


Shattered Heart

by KD writes (KDHeart)



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Matchmaking, Naraku is an evil bastard, On Permanent Hiatus, Rape, Rape Recovery, Romantic Trinangle, Slow Build, Soul Bond, Suicidal Thoughts, Time Travel, Tricksters, Youkai politics, dream walking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-06
Updated: 2007-10-01
Packaged: 2018-02-09 19:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 58,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1995825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDHeart/pseuds/KD%20writes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naraku needs Kagome to fulfill his evil plans and he actually gets her. The world as they know it, now depends on how old enemies can work as allies, and on a girl's power to put back together the pieces of her heart.</p><p>[Technically, the fic isn't complete, but I'll probably never return to it in this iteration.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Now Begins

**Author's Note:**

> [2014 note] Originally posted to mediaminer.org and fanfiction.net between February 2006 and October 2007. It was my second fan fic and my longest work until I started writing Tales of Atlantis with xyzmary2001. 
> 
> It was rated Teen at the time, but I think now it deserved a higher rating, so I'm posting it as Mature this time.
> 
> There were several things about the story that didn't quite work for me and I was too young and inexperienced as a writer to know what was wrong, so it got put on hold until I knew what to do with it. It turns out it was the romantic triangle that didn't work for me.
> 
> I started rewriting the fic under the title 'Fractured' and you can find it [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/424296/chapters/710274)
> 
> The version posted here is edited for spelling, punctuation and paragraphs, but you can find the original version on the [Spark ](http://dokuga.com/spark/story/5132/1)archive on Dokuga. I'm too attached to this story to change more than that - this was my first experience writing in English outside of the classroom and it means a lot to me that it stays as close to its original form as possible. 
> 
> **Warning:** While not graphic, the fic contains a clumsily written rape scene and suicidal thoughts on the part of the victim. At the time, I thought I handled those scenes pretty well, but my older self isn't so sure about it.

The sun was setting over the barren ridge of a lonely mountain, the landscape appearing to be covered in blood from its crimson rays. Halfway up the mountain, a lonely hut surrounded by old trees, their branches twisted and blackened by time. Next to the hut was a lightening-struck pine tree, its splintered trunk, a warning to those foolish enough to come that way.

A large feather appeared on the evening sky, closing in on the hut’s premises. It landed right in front of it, a woman jumping off right before it touched the ground. The feather shrunk and she placed it back in her hear. The wind appeared to swirl around her for a bit. Then it stopped. Silence seemed to thicken in the already silent clearing now that the breeze stopped rattling the leaves of the trees.

A stray gush of wind made her smirk as she approached the hut. It told her that her powers meant nothing here. Surprisingly, this didn’t frighten her as much as it should.

Her red eyes examined her surroundings in search of any threat. Finding nothing, she entered the hut where an old woman was expecting her. She was sitting in a corner of the room studying the younger woman that came in. Her confidence was surprising and somewhat disturbing, but the old woman was pleased by what she saw.

The young woman started to play with a fan she always had with her. “Is it ready?” she asked the aged figure in front of her.

The old woman was wearing an outfit similar to the miko grab, only it wasn’t white and red, but gray and a dark shade of crimson. Her eyes were gray and, like the red ones of her visitor, appeared to have no pupils. She looked into those red eyes and answered by asking her back. “What do you think? You know I still need the final ingredient. Have you brought me his blood?”

The red eyed woman gave her a confident smirk and extended her hand to her. “Take as much as you need!” she answered.

The old woman did as she was told. With a dagger she seamed to pull out of nowhere she cut a small wound into the woman’s wrist. The blood that resulted was collected in a small bottle.

Gray eyes looked into red ones. “Come back after midnight, it’ll be ready by then.” She told her, then added “Is he sure of this? This will severely tip the balance…”

“I’m still out of his graces so he wouldn’t tell me anything.” She said, snapping her fan open again, and she continued, not loosing the old woman from her sight, “As for the first part, I think I’ll stay and watch. I’ve got nothing else to do till you finish.” 

She retreated in a shadowy corner of the room, her eyes studying the old woman’s every movement. She saw her take a bottle with a strange mixture in it, pricking her own finger and mixing the drops of blood with it. After about half an hour, the old woman opened the bottle that had the blood she collected from her earlier, HIS blood. She poured it, along with the other ingredients she prepared earlier, in another bottle. “Now, we only have to wait.” was all the woman said.

Red eyes narrowed. She was growing impatient by now. It was enough that she had to go on a mission she didn’t know the purpose of. It was understandable he didn’t trust her after her latest attempts of escaping his influence, but not even telling her why she had to visit this strange old woman was too much.

“Your impatience isn’t helping. You can’t take the potion yet because it needs to settle and the two bloods need to mix. Miko and youkai need to neutralize each other before it can be used. If you touch it now, it might purify you. If it doesn’t, your demonic energy will block its power and the potion will be useless.” It was the longest speech the old woman gave since they met. He suspicions were beginning to root themselves into her answer. 

She decided to take a risk and ask her, it was the only way to find his plans out. “What does this potion do anyway?” She tried to sound uninterested, but her curiosity seeped through her every word. A long silence followed. She was about to lose hope of an answer when gray eyes appeared right in front of her. “You can’t fool an old woman like me that easily. Being left out is hard for you, Kagura?” The young woman looked at her in surprise. “You told me yourself you’re not in his graces anymore, but old Akiko knows more then people, or demons, give her credit. I’m surprised he sent you here after what happened. But it was his choice…” the old woman trailed off, her finger pointing at Kagura’s nose.

“But I can’t help but satisfy your curiosity. Not that it will help you in any way... This potion makes demons immune to miko energy, temporarily anyway. It only works once, so, if you want back in his graces, you better remind him that.”

Silence reclaimed the lonely hut. Finally, the sun set and the potion was finally ready. Kagura left the hut, her feather taking her into the night, to Naraku’s castle, where her fate awaited.

A smile brushed her lips as details of the conversation conveniently fled her memory.


	2. The Last Time Things Were How They Were

 

“Inuyasha, SIT!”

The girl’s command was followed by a THUMP, the inu-hanyou crushing deep into the ground. He stared at her from his hole, his golden eyes pleading for an answer. “Why do you always act like this?” the girl continued. “How many times do I have to tell you there is nothing between me and Kouga? If you keep getting into fights without a reason you’ll end up in a hole, alright,” she stated, “Only it will be six feet deep.” Her comment seemed to have some effect on him, but this didn’t mean he was going to let that wolf youkai flirt with her just because she didn’t consider him a threat.

As if he could hear the hanyou’s thoughts, Kouga started, “Kagome, why do you keep wasting your time with this mutt. You know you’ll always have my love and I already consider you my mate, why don’t you just accept my offer? You’ll be mate to the leader of a strong pack of wolf youkai; you’ll have power and all my love.” He was holding her hands and his blue eyes were staring into her chocolate ones. He twitched a little when he saw Inuyasha getting up. “Well? What do you say?” he asked, hoping Kagome didn’t notice the hanyou as well.

Her dark gaze peered into his as she calmly stated, “Kouga, I like you, a lot, but, we can’t be together. I …”

Inuyasha interrupted her. “Come on, Kouga! You know she likes me, why do you even bother?” He was out of his hole giving the wolf a killer look. He knew very well how Kagome felt toward him and, even if he didn’t show it too often, he wished he could show her he felt the same for her. Unfortunately, the only way he found to show his feelings was by ‘defending’ her from all the males that tried to win her heart, the first on the list being Kouga.

Kagome gave Kouga a smile. “Inuyasha’s right. You know what I feel for you, and it’s not love.” The wolf looked at her, confused. The girl saw the look on his face and decided to take a different approach. “Kouga, Inuyasha… proposed and I… I accepted.” She finished, hoping nothing will get hurt except his ego.

Kouga looked at her, then at the hanyou and then back at her. He seamed a bit sad, his eyes half closing and his head leaning a bit to the side. Surprisingly, a smile appeared on his lips as he let go of Kagome’s hands. “So you’ve decided.” He looked at her with the smile still plastered to his lips. He cupped her chin and brought her eyes to face his again “If he doesn’t care for you or he ever hurts you again, you know where to find me. Oh, and if things do work out, you’re gonna name one of your pups after me, right?” he said, letting her go and leaving in a whirlwind.

“Keh! Good bye and good riddance!” Inuyasha stated as the dust cleared after the wolf. His remark earned him a glare from Kagome.

“What?” he asked in the most innocent tone possible. “Why did you tell that wolf we’re together?” he asked. She gave him no answer.

Kagome simply looked at him and thought about the times he almost confessed his love. She always hoped he would and, finally, a couple of days ago, she found him saying good bye to Kikyo, for good. Later that day, the two of them ended up alone in Kaede’s hut, the others out, helping the old miko. He started to talk to her about the way he used to feel for Kikyo and to apologize for how he treated her. He looked very embarrassed. He told her he ‘really liked’ her and she was almost ‘as good as Kikyo’. Of course, this was Inuyasha’s way of saying she now occupied that space of his heart, Kikyo used to hold. He just HAD to say it the way he did. Even if Kagome understood what he meant, her answer was the inevitable “SIT!” until he got it right and actually said what he meant.

She took his hand. “Come on! They probably think one of you is resting in peaces by now and I want to prove them wrong!” she said as she dragged the shocked inu to camp.

 

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

 

Sesshoumaru nervously paced the room. He was waiting for his servant, Jaken, but it looked like the toad didn’t know what “immediately” meant. The toad took its time to get there and this was really annoying.

The doors opened and a green head peeked in.

“Sesshoumaru-sama?” the scared youkai asked. “You called for me?” Fear drenched its words as the tall figure in front of him frowned. “I’m sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama!” he said throwing himself at the lord’s feet “It’s all that girl’s fault. She kept complaining about you sending her to bed early,” he tried to excuse himself.

“Jaken, get up!” Sesshoumaru ordered. He continued without letting the toad shake off the shock. “I have to go away for a few days and you will be in charge of the castle. Do you understand?” he asked, waiting for the toad’s confirmation. Jaken nodded and his master continued. “As always, Rin is in your charge, make sure she is safe and nothing happens to her, otherwise it’s your head. Understand?” The toad nodded again as his master continued. “I have no idea when I will return, but, just in case I’m not here in five days, I’ll send someone with instructions.” Jaken nodded again and left the room as his master signaled him to do so. He was going to a meeting with the other demon lords and he needed to get ready.

Once he was sure his master couldn’t hear him, the little toad started mumbling. “Jaken, do this! Jaken, do that! Jaken give Rin a bath! He’ll soon want me to check on his brother!” at this thought the green little youkai gave a shiver.

His master had been acting strange lately and it all had to do with a letter he received from the Lord of the Northern Lands summoning him and the other youkai lords to a meeting. It had to do with Naraku, because his master’s interest in the hanyou’s movements increased after that. Even stranger was the fact that he put great efforts into watching over his half-brother instead of trying to get his sword, like he usually did.

 

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~~

 

 

The sight that awaited Kagome and Inuyasha back at camp was priceless. A mad Sango was watching a barely-conscious Miroku, hidden under the Hiraikotsu he had been battered with. A red handprint was visible on the hoshi’s face and Shippou was laughing his lungs out, trying to explain to him why he should be respectful to ladies.

“Kagome!” called the tayjia as soon as she saw her friend coming. “Do you think Kaede has anymore of those subduing necklaces?”

Inuyasha gave both of them a look. He still hated to wear the thing and didn’t understand why, now that he and Kagome were together and trusted each other, he still had to wear it. This way, Kagome had complete control over him and she knew it.

“I don’t know, you should ask her when we get back to the village. Why do you ask?” Kagome said in an innocent voice. Before she could think of something else, a bushy tail blocked her field of vision, its owner excitedly jumping on her shoulder.

“What happened with Kouga? Inuyasha didn’t hurt him or anything?” Shippou asked her, curious to find out which of the two won the fight.

“Keh! I would’ve if she wouldn’t’ve stopped me!” He gave Kagome an angry look.

She just smiled at him and went to check on Miroku’s wounds. He had to learn his lesson and if a subduing necklace was what it took, then that was what they’ll use. She was sure Sango was going to have fun with this.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The sun was setting and they were all getting ready to go to sleep. Shippou was cuddled in Kirara’s tails, since Kagome and Inuyasha were still sitting by the fire, her head on his shoulder, just enjoying each other’s company. Sango was in her sleeping bag, keeping an eye on Miroku, who was currently staying as far away as possible from the object of his affection. This was ten feet from Sango, leaning against a tree.

The sky suddenly became clouded, an eerie breeze going through the forest. Inuyasha’s ears twitched at the sounds coming from behind them as his sensitive nose caught a familiar and concerning scent. He realized Kagome was aware of the presence as well. Before they could give a signal, Sango was already up and ready to fight, joined by Miroku. They waited for the intruder to show himself.

And so he did. And old man came from the trees. “I guess I’m starting to loose my touch. Usually, they notice my presence after I finish my work.” He stated to no one in particular. He was dressed in white, a cloak hiding his face, and was leaning for support on a twisted staff.

Inuyasha pointed at it. “I don’t think that helps. Why would Naraku send an old man after us? Did he run out of minions? Is Kagura on vacation?” A smirk spread along his face. “We need to get some sleep. Unless you want to get killed, I suggest you leave us alone.” He was cracking his knuckles trying to scare off the intruder.

The old man looked at them. “You do look tired and I should probably let you rest. Oh, you’ll have eternal rest! I’ll be gentile and kill you fast, if you just let me take the girl to Naraku.” He stated, pointing to Kagome.

Before anyone could realize what happened, a strange fog covered the clearing. It was different from Naraku’s miasma, but just as strong. Inuyasha’s eyes started glowing red and stripes appeared under his eyes as he transformed into his demon self. Kirara transformed into her large form, prowling the grounds and stalking the others as a tiger would its pray. Shippou, seeing the transformation in his friends, decided to hide. So he scurried up a tree.

The old man smirked. “Looks like I haven’t completely lost my touch.” He took a step back to look at his work. Inuyasha and Kirara attacked Miroku and Sango. It was like they didn’t know who they were any more. “Don’t you ningen know it’s dangerous to travel with youkai?” the old man’s voice was heard from the shadows. He looked on as Kirara viciously attacked Sango, the tayjia never fighting back, just ducking from the cat’s sharp claws.

“Kirara, it’s me, Sango! Don’t you remember me?” she tried to get the cat’s attention, hoping to get her out of the trance she was obviously under. A clawed paw swiped at her head. Sango ducked again, using her Hiraykotsu when she couldn’t escape the claws and fangs coming at her.

A few feet away, Miroku was trying to get away from Inuyasha. He used his staff to reject the hanyou’s attacks. The Tesaiga was nervously pulsing at his side, trying to transform him back. It was no use. As long as the fog filled the air around them, there was no way to get the two back to normal. The monk was just thinking of a way to do that when a clawed hand sliced the air in front of him.

Sango was bruised and blood seemed to gush out of her body whenever she moved, but she still tried to evade Kirara’s attacks without hurting her beloved pet. There was no use in doing so. It would just enrage her more and that was the least she wanted.

Miroku saw Inuyasha change his target after he missed the monk’s head. Sango was now under attack from both sides. He had no alternative. As fast as it was humanly possible, he launched himself in their direction, trying to get one of the two demons off Sango.

The old man was now at some distance from the fight scene, still keeping his eyes on the fighters. It had been a long time since he last used his true powers and it surprised him his plan was on track. He twitched when he heard a twig crack under the weight of a step.

Nobody took notice of Kagome as she ordered Inuyasha to sit, nobody saw her as she tried to distract Kirara’s attention from Sango or as she tried to get a clear shot of the one who caused all this. Well, no one but the one that did cause this fight. But, not even he noticed the moment the miko vanished from the clearing. So it was definitely surprising for the old man when he suddenly found himself with an arrow pointed at his head. The girl’s eyes looked fiercely into his as she tensed the bow for the shot.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked her without flinching. He _was_ surprised by her appearance, but he was still able to take control of the situation. He inched slowly from her.

Kagome never left him out of sight. “Don’t even think you can just get away with something like this! What did you do to them?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he answered blankly. “I just made the demon inside take over; their most basic instincts run wild. In their case, it seems to be fighting for survival, as for that little kit, it seems to be running from danger,” he added with a smirk.

She looked in the old man’s eyes, determination clearly visible in her own. “Change them back!” she pulled the arrow back a little to make her point clear.

“Or what?” the old man replied as determined to finish his mission as she was to kill him if he didn’t get her friends back to their normal selves. “What’s normal if that’s who they really are?” he continued, his smirk firmly in place.

Kagome, reaching the end of her patience, released the arrow. It flew straight for the strange demon. Her target vanished just as the arrow was about to pierce his body. The teenaged girl looked in surprise as the projectile continued its deadly journey.

Before she could snap out of the shock of seeing him disappear in front of her eyes, a hand wrapped itself around her waist as another clasped itself around her mouth to stop the screams that normally followed.

In the clearing, Miroku was trying to get Inuyasha’s claws away from Sango when he saw something appearing at lightening speed from the trees behind the hanyou. Before he could make out what it was, Inuyasha fell at his feet, an arrow embedded in his right shoulder and his features coming back to normal.

Kagome looked in shock and horror at the effect her arrow had. She wanted to open her mouth and scream when she realized something had covered it. Before she got the chance to struggle, everything around her went black, a strange feeling overtaking her, like when she traveled through the well.

Sango was defending herself from Kirara, when, suddenly, it changed back to its housecat form. The young woman looked at the demon in surprise. She had no idea what happened, but she was glad it stopped. She looked around to find the others.

A few feet away was Miroku, carefully examining Inuyasha’s wound. It looked like it had been caused by an arrow.

“An arrow?! Kagome!” With that thought in mind she turned around to find her friend. She and Shippou were nowhere to be found.

A rustle of leaves was herd and a ball of reddish-rusty fluff appeared running their way. She recognized it as Shippou, but where was Kagome? She realized immediately that something was wrong. The kit had a shocked face even before he came into the clearing and saw the bloody scene.

As he came out of the trees, Shippou saw his friends in the horrible state they were. Kirara was covered in blood, not her own from the looks of it, Inuyasha was lying on the ground, unconscious, with a gushing wound in his right shoulder. Miroku was kneeling next to him, holding a blood covered arrow. Then his eyes fixed on Sango. She was the first that seemed to notice him. She was covered in wounds and blood. He started to run to her, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. He jumped in her arms and hid his face in her shoulder. “She’s gone! Kagome’s gone!” he cried. “They just disappeared!”

 

 

 


	3. This Is How a Heart Breaks

 

 

 

The darkness engulfed Kagome as she felt everything around her disappear.

A strange feeling washed over her, her mind swirling with fragments of memories and glimpses of the future. At least that’s what it looked like to her in the short moments that followed the events in the clearing. It seemed like an eternity had passed since those cold arms wrapped around her and she ended up in this strange world, when, in reality, it had only been a split second.

She blinked her eyes, at least that’s what she thought she did, and she found herself in an empty room in some sort of palace. It looked old and deserted. Looking around, she found nothing. There was no furniture in the room except for the shoji screens acting as doors to the room and a tatami in one shadowed corner. A figure was sitting on the tatami, careful not to let the little light that found its way into the room show his features.

She squinted her eyes to make out the figure’s contour. ‘Naraku!’ her inner voice told her as she tried to brake free of the hold the strange old man had on her. Her struggles were met with indifference from him and amusement from Naraku. This last reaction was the one that had more impact on her nerves.

“You really think you stand a chance of escape?” he asked her with an evil grin on his face. “You can let go of her now, there’s nowhere she can go,” he told the demon and then he turned to Kagome. “So, are you going to give me your shards, miko?” With every word, he came closer and closer to the girl, until he was only some inches away from her. When he uttered the word ‘miko’, they came face to face, enough space between them to allow them to breathe.

During Naraku’s question, the other demon’s hand was clasped on the girl’s shoulder, pushing her down, trying to get her to kneel before the youkai. This only made Kagome try harder to stand her ground, wanting to look the demon in the face. Standing before him, without her friends to help her, she felt lost and doomed, there was no way she could get herself out of this one.

She forced herself not to break eye contact with the one in front of her. She ignored the hand that was clutching her shoulder and gave Naraku the most innocent smile she was capable. “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” she stated calmly.

Naraku motioned for the old man to take his hand off of the girl and to let them talk alone. The demon complied.

“You know I don’t really enjoy games which are not of my making,” he stated after they were left alone. “You know very well what I’m talking about.” His voice had a playful tone that threatened to turn deadly.

She looked at him for a little more and then averted her gaze “They’re not on me,” she stated blankly.

“Of course they’re not,” he repeated. “I would have sensed them, I’m not that helpless,” he stated in a mock-offended tone. “So, where are they?” he insisted.

She looked at him again and smirked. “Somewhere you’ll never find them!” she said satisfied. The jewel shards were in her time. She left them there so they wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. Nobody was looking for them there; they were only legend to most of the inhabitants of modern Tokyo. “It would take you hundreds of years to find them,” she continued, without lying.

“You’re that sure of your hiding place?” he asked her and she answered by nodding. “It doesn’t matter anyway!” he stated. “I found something else that would work and it’s more pleasant than searching for the rest of the jewel. I’m going to get that eventually as well. But, for now, we’ll just wait.” he said looking at her reaction.

She tried not to look shocked, but the fear of truth in his words was too great. If anything was stronger than the jewel and Naraku ever got his hands on it, they were doomed. Fear was coursing through her and the demons could feel it. And they enjoyed it.

“You don’t have to worry just yet. There still is time. All you have to do now is go get a nice rest.” He sounded almost gentle and slightly amused. It scared her even more.

He snapped his fingers and the old man appeared in the room. “Take our guest to her _chambers_!” Naraku ordered. The demon grabbed Kagome’s hand and they were engulfed by the darkness once again. In a split second, they reappeared in Kagome’s _chambers,_ a small, forgotten room, almost resembling a dungeon. She turned around to find her _guide_ gone.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru arrived at the meeting place, a small palace that belonged to one of the lesser lords. He scanned the area and sniffed the air a bit to see if there was any sign of danger. Even if the lords agreed on a neutral meeting place, this didn’t mean they were going to give up their old habits. No common enemy was great enough for them to leave all differences behind and cooperate.

He followed the servant that led him to his chambers, ignoring the amount of unnecessary details the little demon tried to fill his head with. He often wondered how this creature didn’t get its head severed off by one of the lords. For the past 50 years, this was the servant that greeted all the guests at the castle. And he didn’t change a bit in these five decades, if nothing, he became even more annoying.

By the time Sesshoumaru reached his room, all he managed to retain from the tidal wave of information was that the rest of the lords were coming in the morning and that lord Hikaru planed the first meeting right after lunch. He tried to forget that lady Izumi showed up in a pink kimono, which was “totally inappropriate”, or that lord Jiro’s son had an affair with a human. Sesshoumaru was about to become the person that detached the servants head from its body, the only thing that saved him was the fact that they reached the door to the lord’s chambers and the little youkai had to leave.

‘So,’ Sesshoumaru thought to himself. ‘Aall this rush for nothing. They say it is an urgent matter concerning Naraku and they act as if it were a spring ball,’ he smirked. ‘They care more for comfort and gossip then their safety. I have better chances of defeating Naraku if I join forces with my brother.’ This wasn’t a thought he was willing to consider. Not yet anyway.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The sun was beginning to rise over the spot where a camp used to be, its rays now shone over a mutilated landscape and on five figures nursing the wounds caused by the battle. Sango was recuperating fast, her wounds almost healed. She was helping Miroku take care of Inuyasha. The hanyou was still badly hurt, Kagome’s arrow having done the worst damage. The girl used some of her miko energy on the arrow. An accident, since it wasn’t enough to cause any permanent damage. It still affected Inuyasha’s demon side.

Miroku didn’t seem to care about his injuries. He paid them no attention, or at least that was what he wanted the others to know. He hurt all over, but had to save face. What would Sango say if he started whining?

Shippou was sitting with Kirara, watching over her as the cat healed herself. He was ashamed to have just run away, not doing anything to save his friends. He was even madder at himself for letting that strange demon take Kagome away. The little fox felt guilty. It was his fault. He could’ve done something to help Kagome, he could’ve helped the others defend themselves, he could’ve warned them on Kagome’s shooting, but he didn’t do anything. He just ran off and hid in the tallest tree he found.

Kirara purred, diverting him from his thoughts.

Sango checked Inuyasha’s temperature for the millionth time. There was no real reason for doing that, but she needed to do something. She stood and walked a few paces. She crossed her arms around her body, fighting back a shiver. She scanned the area and turned to Miroku. “After Inuyasha gets better, we set out in search of Kagome. There’s nothing we can do now, but wait,” her voice broke of. Her best friend was at the hands of their worst enemy and she was helpless against it. “All we can do is wait,” she emphasized with regret. She raised her eyes to meet Miroku’s.

The monk left Inuyasha’s side and headed to Sango. Tears were running down Sango’s cheeks as she looked at him for an answer. She never acted like this before. They usually had to deal with desperate situations and their lives were always in danger, but she never acted this worried. She felt something was different this time - the danger was greater and growing.

Miroku was as helpless as she was. He had no idea how to save Kagome without Inuyasha’s help and he had no idea how to comfort Sango. He eventually decided to go on instinct with the second part. He wrapped his arms around her, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Her body stiffened under his touch, waiting for his hands to stray further down her back, to a certain area, but she relaxed when she realized they weren’t. For once, Miroku betrayed his nature and she was grateful for that. She couldn’t bare it if he were to pull one of his stunts at a time like this.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The sun was rising over the horizon, bringing to life the surroundings. A ray made its way through the window and gently touched Kagome’s face, waking her.

The girl opened her eyes lazily and took in her surroundings. Before she could blink again, she realized where she was. ‘So it wasn’t just a nightmare,’ she said to herself. She curled into a ball, trying to clear her head. ‘What’s happening here? Naraku knows I don’t have the jewel, what else dose he want from me?’

Her thoughts trailed off to her friends. She had no idea what happened after her arrow hit Inuyasha. She didn’t even think she put any of her energy in it until it was released and it missed its original target.

‘Please, be all right Inuyasha! Please!’ she pleaded inwardly ‘If anything happens, it’ll be my fault.’

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The demon lords were gathered in the large study of the castle. Sesshoumaru was seated next to lord Hikaru, their host and Lord of the Southern Lands. Opposite to them sat lord Ryuku of the Northern Lands and lady Izumi of the Eastern Lands. Sesshoumaru remembered hearing the servant mention something about her husband suffering from a strange disease, thus not being able to attend the meeting. He tried to forget the part about her first husband dying of a similar illness. The other lords sat around them, the room being large enough for the other twenty lords present as well.

“The problem that brought us together today is Naraku’s sudden increase in power. Most of you haven’t heard of the hanyou until now, but the problem he posses is becoming more and more urgent,” Lord Hikaru started.

“Why is a hanyou such a _great_ threat to us? We’re all full-blooded demons here, not to mention we are the most powerful lords of the land, why should this be a problem?” one of the younger lords, lord Kitsu, asked. He gave the others curious looks. The lords whose lands were further from the threat looked at him with agreement.

“It is never wise to underestimate your opponent,” Sesshoumaru said calmly, also thinking of his fights with his brother, not only Naraku. “A hanyou can be extremely powerful, stronger than some full-bloods even.” He didn’t like to admit something like this, but his brother always had the annoying custom of wining against him. It was probably because his stupidity managed to defy the older demons cold logic.

“Lord Sesshoumaru _is_ right, he has fought Naraku numerous times…” lord Kitsu interrupted him. “But it seems he lost. I heard you’ve been getting soft, lord Sesshoumaru.” The remark earned him a slight frown from the lord.

“It is none of your concern Kitsu!” Hikaru replied. “Our spies have found that Naraku’s powers are growing,” he continued, coming back to the subject. “And he’s been gathering quite a large army. Every lower demon in the lands, unsatisfied with his situation, has joined him. Even some of the higher demons…” he trailed off, looking at lord Jiro. “Lord Jiro’s youngest sun, for example.”

All the demons in the room looked shocked at the news. It was unthinkable for a noble to do something like that. One from such an old lineage as lord Jiro’s to do so was even more shocking. It was true that their lands had shrunk during the past century, but still, it was one of the oldest demon family’s in Japan.

The meeting seemed to last forever. Despite Kitsu’s interruptions, lord Hikaru managed to explain the situation to the others, with a little help from Sesshoumaru. It appeared Naraku was gathering a real army. Thiefs, leeches, younger sons of the demon lords trying to win their fathers’ lands, any demon that didn’t have power and wanted it, meaning almost any demon that wasn’t one of the lords and even some humans, were joining up with the hanyou to overtake the old order of the lands. All the lords were in danger, at least they realized this. Even Kitsu had nothing to object.

“You now realize how serious this issue is,” concluded lord Hikaru. “Every moment that passes gives Naraku an advantage we don’t have: the possibility to increase his forces.”

Sesshoumaru looked out the window, the sun was setting. They spent a whole day arguing, that’s how long it took them to convince the others of how serious everything was. Not that they didn’t have any idea about who they were dealing with, most of the lords already had to deal with his plots. But now, things were different. This time, it concerned all of them.

The pale light that made its way into the room made their faces look even graver than they already did.

Sesshoumaru sat up.

“I’ll be living in the morning. If you have anything else to add do it now. When you have news, send someone to my castle.” With this he left the room, knowing they had nothing else to say.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The fading light made Kagome nervous. She knew something was going to happen to her, and it was going to happen soon. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she looked out the small window.

A crescent moon was raising to her spot on the night sky, while the sun’s fading rays made the horizon turn blood red.

She felt lonely. She hadn’t seen her friends since the day before and since her talk with Naraku, no one else came near her. It’s been almost twenty four hours since she saw another living soul, human or otherwise, and it was starting to get to the normally social girl. The silence of the room was reverberating in her mind causing her more physical pain than a real noise would.

So this was how Quiet was, the thing she always longed for ever since she started these trips to the feudal age.

No, this wasn’t quiet, this was torture. The bastard was up to something and she knew it. What she didn’t know was _what._ What was he up to? What was his plan? And more important, why did he need her? She was going to get an answer one way or the other. Even if it meant experiencing it first hand. This was what she was most afraid of.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

As the sun vanished over the horizon, a little kitsune kit was worriedly hovering around his wounded friend. It had been a whole day since Inuyasha was struck by Kagome’s arrow and there was still no reaction from him.

Inuyasha looked peaceful, too peaceful, and this worried everyone.

An eyebrow started twitching.

“He’s moving! He’s moving! Sango, Miroku, he’s coming to!” Shippou started running around, alerting his friends on the news. He jumped on Sango’s shoulder “See?” he asked pointing to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha’s ears were twitching, focusing on the sounds around him. He recognized Shippou’s voice and slowly opened his eyes. They were all there, looking at him as if he just fell from the sky. He looked around, but he just couldn’t see Kagome anywhere. ‘What happened?’ he mused. A searing pain through his shoulder was all he received as answer to his unspoken question. He grimaced and almost falls unconscious again.

“He’s waking up!” Sango’s voice broke through the haze in Inuyasha’s mind.

“K…Kagome? Where’s Kagome?” he managed to ask. “She’s not here. Where is she?” he questioned. Sango’s worried look said more then she wanted to let out, so much that even the confused hanyou understood. “Naraku” he said, bowing his head in hurt and understanding. He unconscientiously reached up to his shoulder, to the place where Kagome’s arrow hit.

“You’re all right! We were so worried Inuyasha!” Shippou said, jumping on Inuyasha’s shoulder.

His eyes squinted in pain and his fist made contact with the kit’s head.

“That hurts, baka!” he yelled.

As Shippou hid behind Sango for protection, Miroku looked at Inuyasha. “Glad to see you’re back to normal now we can go find Kagome-sama”

The hanyou turned serious again and pointed to his wound. “What happened?” he asked.

“Kagome’s arrow,” Miroku stated simply. “I think she tried to hit that guy, but, I guess, she missed,” he continued. “I don’t understand why she didn’t use as much energy as she usually does in these cases, if she would have, you wouldn’t be here.”

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go!” Inuyasha said confidently, jumping up to start looking for the girl. Before he managed to get up, he was back down again, eyes squinting in pain, his hand holding tight on his shoulder.

“She didn’t use as much energy as usual, but she still used enough to keep you out for a while,” said Sango. “It’s no use looking for them. They’re probably at Naraku’s castle by now. Our only chance to save her is to find it. We couldn’t do it when you were OK, now it’s going to be virtually impossible,” she finished.

Inuyasha didn’t agree with the situation, but he had to comply. He realized they where in no condition to go looking for Naraku’s castle in the dead of the night, let alone fight the hanyou. He had to accept it and, at least, wait till morning.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A noise made its way to Kagome’s ears, breaking the tomb-like silence that surrounded her the past few hours. A shadow made its way to her. When it was in front of her, she recognized it as Naraku. He looked down at her, into her fearless eyes. She seemed to defy him, acting as if they were in her room and he was the intruder.

“What do you want?” she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

She was scared, really scared, but she couldn’t let him see it.

He smirked as he looked back at her. “I’m here to bring you your answer. You wanted to know why you are her, didn’t you?” he questioned. She nodded, so he continued “I want you!” he said.

His words had the expected effect on the young miko. Her eyes widened and she gasped, pulling away from him in the process. He smirked, seeing her defenseless.

“Not now,” he continued. “You have until tomorrow night to decide if you will be mine willingly or not. I don’t care. Either way, the outcome will be the same.”

Kagome looked at him with sheer horror in her eyes. She always knew he was low, but she never imagined he was this low. She had to find a way out of this, but how? Right now, she couldn’t do anything. She had no idea if her friends were able to help.

As mysteriously as he made his appearance, Naraku was gone form her room, his words still echoing in her head ‘You will be mine, willingly or not.’

A tear made its way down her cheek, followed by another, and another. This time, there was no way out. This time, she was alone.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

From her hut on the mountain side, an old woman watched the night sky. Her gray, pupilless eyes scanned the horizon in search of something. She closed her eyes.

“There’s no turning back!” she said to herself with a smile of satisfaction on her face. “What will happen, will happen. It has to.”

Her eyes opened again, in time to catch the sight of a falling star. “It has to happen!” she repeated.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

In a cave, a long distance from Akiko’s hut, another pair of old eyes studied the sky. “It _has_ to happen!”

 

 


	4. Waiting For The Inevitable

 

“You will be mine, willingly or not!” his words still echoed in her head, making her mind hurt. Now, she was really determined: she had to escape. But how?

She took another look around the room. There was only a door, the one she assumed was heavily guarded, and the windows were sealed with a strange barrier. Maybe she could use her energy to break the barrier.

She summoned her energy, even if this didn’t work all the time. To her surprise, nothing happened. No glow, no feeling of warmth, nothing. She just sat there, her hand in front of her, wondering what was going on.

Why the sudden interest in her? What was going to happen to her after Naraku got his way? She was at Naraku’s mercy and only he knew none.

A tear trailed down her cheek, without her even knowing when it formed in her eye. It was followed by another, and another, until she was sobbing. She crossed her arms around her knees, hiding her face behind them.

She stayed like this until the first rays of sun made their way into the room. Despite the light and warmth they brought into the cold room, the rays only made the situation look darker. Time was running out for her.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“Why has the lord of the western lands come so long out of his way, just to see an old hag such as myself?” the old woman asked with fake surprise in her voice. Her vivid green eyes were the only part of her anatomy that seemed to hold life, although Sesshoumaru knew very well she wasn’t as defenseless as her frail frame made her appear.

Her skin was white and dry like paper and her old hands fiddled around with some strange potions. She was dressed in a light blue kimono, with a gray obi. She moved around easily, despite her obvious age. He knew of the rumors about her having demon blood and he knew for sure they were true, he wouldn’t have come to her if she didn’t.

“You know full well why this Sesshoumaru is here, old woman,” he said. He never lost her from sight. If there was anyone with news of Naraku, it was this strange, old woman.

Looking at her aged features, he couldn’t help but wonder how she came to spring fear in the hearts of many demons and, most importantly, what exactly was the bond between her and his family. As far as his mind could go into his past, she always seemed to make an appearance, helping his father or himself, and as far as he could remember, she had always been an old woman.

Despite her demon blood, the only demons which she helped willingly were those of Sesshoumaru’s family, mostly focusing on helping ningen (this alone should have been enough to make him stay away from her).

She also had a way of knowing everything that happened and she had a strange connection with that despicable hanyou, Naraku. The only one she shared this information with was Sesshoumaru and she only told him what she saw fit and only if she wanted to. Hoping she was in a talkative mood, he waited for her answer.

She was indeed very quiet. After she let the silence take over for a few moments, she finally spoke up. “You should head for your castle right away; you have news waiting there…”

He looked at her, expecting an explanation for her pause.

“…and I think … you should find your brother as well,” she finally finished.

“What does that half-breed have to do with this?” he asked coldly.

The old woman waved the subject away. “What do you think Naraku would be willing to do to increase his powers?” she asked in a conversational tone.

The demon lord looked at her, a small trace of curiosity visible in his eyes. “Is there a way besides the jewel!?”

“He is powerful as it is,” se stated. “It is the tainted jewel he needs. The darker it is, the better for him. The only way to alter the nature of the jewel to such an extent is if the soul of its guardian is full of hate and pain, something not so difficult for him to achieve.” She looked at him to see how her words sank in. He was listening attentively, registering everything she said.

“There is another way for him to increase his power,” she continued, finally pausing in her activity. “You already know he can incorporate other demons into his body.”

The mention of this made him recall the time Naraku tried this on him…using Rin for bait. The simple thought of that made him growl.

“If he manages to find a being of sufficient power, he can become invincible. The miko of the Shinkon no tama has immense power, even if she does not realize this,” the old woman continued.

Sesshoumaru looked at her quizzically. She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. The miko had always intrigued him, but what could her powers have to do with it? Unless…

“A child borne of her and a powerful demon …”

Before she could finish her idea, Sesshoumaru was already off. He understood better than anyone what she meant and what the danger was. He had to get back to his castle and find out what was happening.

                     

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“Inuyasha, you’re not ready to go after them!” Sango cried as she was running to her friend. He was about to climb on Kirara, still not healed enough to go on his own.

He was healing fast, but not fast enough because of the nature of the arrow. Sango and Miroku weren’t looking any better either. Thanks to Kagome’s first aid kit, they managed to patch themselves up, but it had only been two days since the fight, not even a demon could heal that fast.

Sango was dressed in her tayjia outfit. She slung the Hiraykotsu over her shoulder and she jumped behind Inuyasha. “But, you know you can count on me to save Kagome!” she finished. Miroku jumped behind her and Kirara set off to take them to Naraku.

They had no clue where she was taken, so they decided to go with Inuyasha and Kirara’s instincts.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“What makes you think I’m going to take you seriously? You are just a child after all,” the tall man said calmly. He was dressed in a white toga, his long, silver hair was gently swaying in the morning breeze and his tail was swinging from side to side, making it very clear he was annoyed by the whole situation. His golden eyes were staring into the colorless eyes of a colorless child.

He didn’t understand why he was bothering with this, it wasn’t his business anyway.

The little girl in front of him had to make a great effort to look him in the eye, since he was about three times taller then her. She held a mirror in her hands and looked in it every now and then.

After a few moments of silence, the girl spoke in a monotonous voice, looking at his feet since her neck hurt from looking up. “I am here just to bring you my master’s message, you decide if you want to follow his instructions or not,” she paused for a second. “My master, Naraku-sama, wants you, Youko Kurama, the leader of the strongest clan of youkai thiefs in the Western Lands, to join him in taking out the youkai lords.”

It was barely visible to an unprepared viewer, but the level of annoyance in her voice rose with every word she said. It was, after all, the fourth time he made her repeat her message. If he tried it one more time, he was going to get his soul sucked in her mirror and nothing was going to make her change her mind about it. Not even if Naraku himself came to stop her. She hated the kitsune from the first moment she saw him. He was a threat to her master’s plans and it was a mystery why he wanted to get him on his side. She made one more effort to look him in the eye for the last time.

She was just about to walk away when his voice rang in her ears, a low, soft voice she was to young to appreciate. “I’ll think about it” he said “but, how can I contact your master?” he asked.

“Someone will cam for you in two days, it should be enough time for you to make up your mind.”

As she disappeared into the forest, a dark figure appeared behind the tall youkai. “Are you serious about joining this guy? I don’t really see you working for someone, especially for a power-hungry hanyou,” he finished his very long and uncharacteristic speech.

The new comer was in complete contrast to the kitsune youkai that stood in front of him. The little man had dark, spiky hair with a white streak in it; he was completely dressed in black and was very short, about half the height of his friend. His piercing red eyes betrayed him as being a fire demon.

“There’s always a first time for everything. For now, do you think you can follow her to where that bastard is hiding?” he asked the fire demon.

The only answer he got was a ‘hn’ before all he saw was a dark blur heading in the same direction as the colorless youkai.

“And I have to pay a visit to an old _friend_ ” he said, speeding off in the other direction.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome found herself trapped in the same silence that seemed to fill the long hours since she was taken prisoner by Naraku. She was loosing all hope, waiting for the inevitable to happen.

A desperate plan of action had begun to form in her mind that morning. She was unsure it would work, but she had no alternative. Now all she had to do was wait for Naraku to put his plan in motion.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru arrived at his castle soon after leaving the old woman Haruko. As soon as he got back, he sent Jaken to find Inuyasha and his friends and bring them immediately to the castle. He specifically asked that the ningen wench be brought there rather she wanted or not.

The little toad youkai wasn’t very pleased with his master’s decision, but set out to comply with his orders. Before leaving, he was distinctly heard babbling something about him becoming the official “babysitter of the Western Lands”.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“We’ve been going in circles for the past three hours, Inuyasha! You’re not well enough to rely on your senses. Even if you were, Shippou says they just disappeared into thin air. You don’t have a scent trail to follow this time,” Miroku tried to explain the situation to the desperate hanyou.

“Keh! What do you know monk? I don’t need a trail to find Kagome and I definitely don’t need help! I’ll find her before anything happens to…” he paused mid-sentence “What are you doing here?” he snapped at the little green thing in front of him.

“My master, Sesshoumaru-sama, sent me to bring you to his castle!” Jaken responded. He wasn’t pleased at all with his mission. He looked around and found the group wasn’t complete. The strange girl his master specifically asked for was not there. “Where is the other girl?” he asked.

Inuyasha’s hand immediately reached for Tesaiga’s hilt and a growl escaped his throat. “What the hell does that bastard want from Kagome?” he shouted.

“One, Lord Sesshoumaru is not a bastard and you will not use such words to describe him,” the toad started. “And secondly,” he continued, “he doesn’t have to tell me about his intentions, he only told me to fetch you,” he finished.

Seeing as they had no chance, they eventually decided to go with him, hoping Sesshoumaru knew where Naraku’s castle was. They doubted the great Lord of the Western Lands would help them get Kagome back, but, for now, this was the only solution they had.

It took them a while to convince Inuyasha, but he eventually gave in. He was curious to find out what his brother had to do with this.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru was sitting in his study, looking over the message he received from the other lords. Despite their agitation at the beginning of the council, they reached the conclusion that Naraku was not really an immediate threat and decided to treat him as such. They weren’t going to take any action for now.

He was deep in thought over this matter when a knock was heard and one of his servants made his way in the room. “Excuse me, Sesshoumaru-sama, but there is someone here to see you,” he said.

Sesshoumaru rose his gaze from the document he had in his hands and gave the little youkai a cold stare. “Who is it?” he asked simply.

The servant, although used to his master’s way of being, shivered under the coldness of his gaze. “He says you know him well enough and that he has important news for you.” He was ready to leave and tell the visitor to go away.

“Wait!” Sesshoumaru stopped him. “Send him in!” he said, recalling Haruko’s words. He was intrigued by what he was about to find out and the look of total surprise on his servant’s face escaped him.

A few seconds later, the doors to the study opened to let in a tall man, a kitsune youkai by the way he looked. Sesshoumaru frowned when he recognized who he was going to talk to.

“What do you want, kitsune?” he asked, his lips arching into a smirk.

His guest also smirked, one of his ears twitching slightly.

“Am I not allowed to visit an old friend?” he asked. The moment was too precious not to savor.

“I do not recall us being friends,” the demon lord stated simply. If the kitsune in front of him was the one to bring him the news Haruko predicted, the near future was going to be very interesting.

“I received an offer from that hanyou, Naraku. He offered me to join him against the demon lords,” he said, waiting to see if the inu youkai in front of him would react.

“So? He has many allies, I do not need to keep count,” he stated. It was clear this was not the news he expected. He never had reasons to like the kitsune, not as if the Lord of the Western Lands liked anyone. In fact, he only brought him loss, but it wasn’t a comfort to know him on the other side eider.

The smirk on the foxes face grew wider. “I thought it was clear that Youko Kurama doesn’t take orders from anyone.”

“Then, way have you come?” Sesshoumaru sounded intrigued.

“I figured me and my men lived quite well off your back, so it’s just natural we take your side,” the fox said, trying to look serious as the frown on Sesshoumaru’s face deepened. Youko’s thieves cost him a small fortune every year, but they did take care of the other thieves in the lands, making sure they weren’t a real threat to the Lord.

“This Sesshoumaru thought you take orders from no one.” There had to be a catch to the foxes offer. It was good to know he wouldn’t fight on Naraku’s side, but choosing to be on their side was surprising, there had to be more.

And, there was. “I never said I would take orders from you. We will be allies, but this doesn’t mean I’ll be your servant,” he stated simply, a bit annoyed, maybe.

“How, exactly, can you assist me?” Sesshoumaru decided to ask.

“For a start, I’ve sent a friend of mine to follow Naraku’s messenger. He should be back by now with the location of his castle.”

The two of them just stood in the silence, studying each other. They haven’t seen each other since they became enemies and now here they were, on the same side again. How long was this going to last?

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagura was standing just outside the room where the miko was held captive. She had a look of disgust on her face, not towards the miko, but toward her own master. She didn’t really agree with his plan, but she didn’t really have a choice: if she didn’t do what she was told to, she would suffer immense pain or even be killed, neither option looking acceptable to her.

She opened the door and let herself in. Looking to the girl in the corner she almost felt pity. Almost. She was in fact a demoness and shouldn’t care about humans. But knowing what fait awaited the girl wasn’t helping her in doing what she had to.

She cleared her throat to make her presence known. The miko looked at her with a mixture of emotions in her eyes, predominant being pain and anger. Kagura’s gaze softened for a second, knowing this was how she felt a few months ago when Naraku found out her betrayal and she was waiting for her sentence. She quickly returned to the present and to the task at hand. She needed to get Naraku’s trust again, no matter what it implied.

“Miko, I’m here to prepare you for tonight.” How much she hated to say these words. The look the girl gave her told Kagura that she had every reason to.

The girl knew why the sorceress was there. She had to get ready for her nightmare. She wished she could just die on the spot, not having to face what was to come. Surprisingly, Kagura gave her a look of understanding, then handed her the cloths she was supposed to wear: a white kimono, with a light blue floral pattern, and a blue obi. Kagome wondered why all the ceremony if everyone agreed it was rape.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru and Youko sat quietly as they listened to the little fire demon in front of them. He was actually half fire demon and half ice demon as Sesshoumaru noted, an interesting combination.

He had indeed found the location of the castle but it was protected by a kekay. Sesshoumaru didn’t want and didn’t need to know how the little demon found Naraku’s castle or even his own for that matter.

Suddenly, the doors to the study flung open to let a flying Jaken into the room. The little toad landed on Sesshoumaru’s desk and immediately started apologizing. “Sesshoumaru-sama, forgive this Jaken for making such an entrance, but there was no choice for him. You see…your brother Inuyasha… and then… but he punched me…and…” the little thing trailed off when he noticed his master was not alone. The two other youkai in the room were looking at him, one holding back a laugh, the other looking bored. Sesshoumaru in turn looked at his servant in annoyance.

Before anything else could be said, a very angry Inuyasha made his way into the room, his friends following.

“Where is the miko?” Sesshoumaru asked before his brother got the chance to open his mouth.

“What do you want with her you bastard?” the hanyou asked, anger lacing his words.

“I heard Naraku needed her for his plans. I thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on her and make sure he does not get her.” The elder of the two brothers stated.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other, understanding how serious the situation was if it attracted Sesshoumaru’s interest and he was even willing to help.

“Keh! What do you care? I can perfectly take care of her without your help!” Inuyasha snapped without thinking.

“Then where is she?” Sesshoumaru asked calmly, though on the inside he was starting to worry. He could distinctly sense the smell of blood on his brother, the fool had been wounded recently and, from the looks of it, hadn’t completely healed yet.

Realization finally hit Inuyasha, the hanyou bowing his head slightly. “It’s too late, anyway!” he said in a dull voice.

“Sesshoumaru-sama,” Miroku spoke up. “I’m afraid Naraku already took Kagome. He sent a strange demon after her and there is no chance for us to find her on our own. If you would assist us in finding her, we would be more than grateful to you” the monk finished, hoping the demon Lord would agree to help them.

Sesshoumaru looked at his half-brother and his friends. Why didn’t this turn of events surprise him? Why couldn’t they just surprise him and keep the miko safe till he got there?

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome was ready for her ‘big night’ and all she could think about was that this was just a nightmare and she would wake up in her own bed, in her own time, safe from all the dangers of the Sengoku Jidai and from Naraku. However, she knew this was not true and she had to face her destiny.

Kagura finished dressing her and was about to leave the room when she remembered something. She turned to the scared girl. She took a silk scarf out of her obi and handed it to Kagome. “Use it as you wish. Either way, it will prove helpful,” the woman stated simply, knowing this was all she could do for the doomed girl.

Kagome took the scarf and realize it had something hidden in it. She felt for it and realized it was some sort of dagger. Kagura was right: this was her way out of this, either way she decided to use it.

 

 

 

 


	5. The First Cut Is the Deepest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning: This chapter contains depictions of rape. Tentacles are involved. At the time of writing this, it was what I considered the lesser of the tortures Naraku could subject Kagome to.   
> It's the third scene, should you wish to skip it. You can resume reading at 'After hours of running through the forest,'

 

Just after the sun set, a servant came to Kagome and took the girl to Naraku’s chamber.

The girl was afraid, every fibber in her body was tense, her hand instinctively reaching to her obi every now and than, the dagger hidden there giving her the strength she needed to go through with this.

The shoji doors slid closed behind her and she found herself alone, in a dark room, the feeling of Naraku’s proximity suffocating her. It was too much.

Her hand clenched on the dagger.

She suddenly stiffened as she felt a warm breath on her skin. “So, it was worth the wait, little miko.”

“Why are you so scared?” he asked innocently. He took her hand in his, taking it up to his lips. “I knew you would eventually accept the situation and come willingly. Why fight the inevitable when it can be so pleasant?”

His voice was making her wince on the inside, but she didn’t let him see the state she was actually in. Why give him the satisfaction? His hands were now holding her shoulders, turning her around to look him in the eyes.

She closed her eyes tight, not wanting to see the vile being in front of her. She wanted to reach for the dagger, but she couldn’t risk giving herself away.

Not yet.

He slowly pushed her back, to his bed. She knew there was no other way out, but she still couldn’t do anything. He leaned in, whispering in her ear. “So good you agreed to be mine tonight. We’ll enjoy every…moment…of…it…”

His lips violently touched hers, shock taking over the girl’s body.

Her hand went to her obi, reaching for her dagger and swinging it to Naraku’s body. In a split second, the cold steal of the blade made contact with the demon’s throat.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru mentally sighed in annoyance. Why was he doing this again? Oh, yes! He was going to save the miko because, if Naraku managed to use her to get the jewel tainted, they were all doomed. If he did more than that, there was no more hope for the world. Youko and Hiei were helping him find Naraku’s castle. But why on earth did he let Inuyasha come with them? The half-bred was still injured and he was always a burden, why did he let him come? Oh, yes! He was the only one who could bring down Naraku’s kekay.

_Why did he let Inuyasha come?_

Youko looked at the three youkai accompanying him. Hiei was leading the way, following the same track he did when he followed that strange girl. Inuyasha was trailing behind them. He had met the hanyou only that evening, but he knew immediately he was Sesshoumaru’s brother, no matter how much they both hated it. He looked angry and worried, the miko must mean a lot to him if he raced to Naraku’s with such determination.

Sesshoumaru was quiet, most likely planning what they were about to do. Before they left for Naraku’s castle, the taiyoukai let him in on the plan. The conversation still rang in his head.

Sesshoumaru had pulled Youko aside and, in a cold voice, told him, “Once we get past the kekay, we have no more need of Inuyasha’s assistance. Make sure he will not stand in our way. Bring him back here. If we are on time, he would only slow us in battle, if we are late, it is dangerous to let him see what awaits there.” His words were final.

According to Hiei, they were “almost there”. This was, of course, the same answer they managed to pry from him twenty minutes ago and half an hour before that. Sesshoumaru was starting to think the gods were against him.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A faint trail of blood was dripping down the hanyou’s neck as he grabbed the girl’s wrist, twisting it and forcing her to kneel before him. Rage and amusement reflected in his eyes at the same time.

“You really thought you could kill me little one?” he asked her, his eyes glowing slightly. “I must admit, I was rather curious as to why Kagura was so eager to get you ready. I expected her to pull something like this, but not this soon.”

The blood stopped and Kagome’s heart jumped when she felt his hand pulling slightly at her kimono. “Why let that vengeful bitch get in our way?” he continued, one hand holding on to her wrist, the other getting her undressed. “This is the night you shall be mine. That foolish Inuyasha won’t be here to save you…”

Kagome was struggling under his tight grip, her free hand scratching at his face, her feet kicking around, trying to get him off of her.

He twisted her arm back, the pain searing through her body. She was now facing the floor, his weight keeping her pinned there, as he whispered in her ear, “You can fight all you want, I’ll like it more. I’m just not so sure you would agree with me.”

Tentacles came out of his back, holding her arms and legs in place, while his arms ripped off her kimono.

Tears were trailing down her face as she continued to struggle. Her protests were useless, the heartless hanyou not even paying attention to them anymore. She tried to block out what was happening to her by closing her eyes.

Holding her down with his tentacles, Naraku still had use of his hands, making sure to dig his claws in her skin every now and then to snap her back to reality and make her open her eyes to see what he was doing.

Suddenly, everything around her went blank. She didn’t pass out, she was well aware of what was going on around her and with her. She just didn’t feel anymore. She was more like a spectator. Not only did she have to go through this, she now had to watch as well.

She could see herself there, in a trance-like state, with Naraku doing whatever he wanted to her. She turned around, not wanting to see this anymore, but found she couldn’t. She was trapped in this sick game and there was no escape.

Although she knew she had her eyes open, she felt them open in shock as the feeling of something sharp piercing her skin broth her conscience back to her body. She looked to see the monster on top of her licking the blood off his fangs and smiling his sickening smile at her.

“I just couldn’t resist…” he stated with a smile of contempt. “Seeing as I was your first, it just felt right to mark you,” he leaned to whisper into her ear. “You were delicious my miko. And now, you are all mine,” he turned back to face her. “You think that fool will still want you after I had you?”

Her wrists were sore from struggling under the grip of his tentacles, but she still fought to brake free. When his words made their way into her conscious mind, the full realization of what happened hit her. Naraku had taken away from her everything that mattered: her innocence, her freedom, her dreams.

As the tears were still streaming down her face, the pain in her body finally set in. She hurt inside and out and her heart filed with hate for this being that dared use her in such a way.

Finally, the welcomed numbness took over her body as she fell into unconsciousness.

Naraku smirked at the girl lying before him. She was fully under his power; she was his to do whatever he wanted to. And he will have his fun with her. He needed to deal with something else first.

 

~~~~+++~~~~

 

After hours of running through the forest, the group of youkai came to a stop as the little demon leading them stopped in front of something. Even if they couldn’t see it, they could sense it - Naraku’s kekay. Hiei turned to his companions with a questioning look on his face.

“Now what?” Youko asked in his place.

Inuyasha stepped forward, unsheathing his sword.

“Now you see why you need me, dear brother!” he said, pulling out his sword. The Tesaiga turned red and he sliced it through the air, dissolving the invisible barrier before them.

Sesshoumaru gave Youko a look before charging ahead.

Inuyasha stared after his brother as his form shrunk in the distance.

“Now you want to play hero?” the hanyou yelled after him. He sheathed his sword and was about to run after him when he realized he couldn’t. Some sort of vine kept him motionless as a gas came out from the plant.

He looked in anger at the kitsune “You bastard!” was all he managed to say before falling into a deep sleep.

“I’m sorry, but it’s for your own good,” the fox said calmly.

Hiei looked at his friend, still confused over what was going on. He knew there was more to this than the two silver haired youkai wanted to let out, but he was never that curious about his friend’s actions. “Now what?”

The kitsune looked back at him and stated simply, “Now, we take him back to the castle.”

 

~~~+++~~~

 

Sesshoumaru left his companions behind, knowing Youko would follow his orders. Inuyasha shouldn’t see what Naraku surely did to the miko. This would definitely bring out his demon form and it wasn’t safe. The thief knew what he had to do without asking unnecessary questions.

The forest eventually gave way to a clearing where a familiar scent made itself known to the taiyokai. It was that wind youkai, Kagura. It looked like Naraku was expecting him.

He looked around for his opponent, getting ready for a battle he was sure to win. He eventually spotted her in a tree nearby. She was sitting casually on a branch, her feet balancing back and forth, preparing to jump down.

He was ready to fight her when she raised her hand, motioning for him to stop. He had no idea why, but he did as she wanted.

“You’re a bit late, Sesshoumaru-sama,” she stated, her red eyes studying the inu youkai in front of her with great care. “I must admit this did save me the effort of putting on the show I was supposed to if you arrived earlier.”

“If Naraku doesn’t want to kill me already, he’s probably dead. Why waste my energy in that case?” she said, motioning for him to follow.

So he did. He didn’t ask for explanations, though it was an interesting turn of events. She betrayed Naraku. How and why? There was time for that later.

No more words were said between the two and, in a matter of seconds, they reached Naraku’s castle. The place looked deserted, only the stench of the hanyou betraying his presence. At a closer inspection, Sesshoumaru found another familiar scent. That of Inuyasha’s little friend, only it seemed faint and mingled with that of Naraku. The youkai lord frowned a little, knowing what this might mean.

Suddenly, the doors opened, letting the one they were looking for appear before them.

Naraku smirked at seeing the two. “Finally decided to drop the act, Kagura?” he asked her.

A shiver went through Kagura’s body, knowing what Naraku’s presence meant. Her plan failed and the girl… she didn’t even dare think about that right now.

“Sesshoumaru-sama, I did not expect you to come for the girl. I honestly thought I would have the pleasure of dealing with your younger brother,” Naraku stated casually, getting on the nerves of the youkai.  

“So, where is she?” Sesshoumaru asked, keeping his cold demeanour. His hand was on the Tokijin, ready to strike down the hanyou right there. He was sure this was the real Naraku, this was a chance he couldn’t pass down.

As if reading his thoughts, Naraku chuckled. “It looks like you are again posed with a choice, either get me or the girl,” he said, then turned to Kagura “We have something to settle, I believe,” he said, motioning for her to come.

Kagura knew what expected her, but followed him nonetheless. This was her life, at least until she found a way out. So far, her plans didn’t seem to work all that well.

Sesshoumaru took his hand off the sword, for now. The human girl came first this time, no matter how much he hated it.

Naraku knew this. “I suggest you find her quickly, she wasn’t looking so well the last time I saw her.” With that, the hanyou disappeared in a puff of smoke along with Kagura.

In a split-second the youkai raced into the castle, knowing it would disintegrate at any moment.

He followed Kagome’s scent to a room somewhere in the centre of the castle, probably Naraku’s room if it were to judge from the intensity of his stench here.

He slid the doors open to find himself in a dark room. Quickly adjusting to the lack of light, he spotted the girl on a bed. She was unconscious and her kimono was in shreds. He tried to ignore her nakedness as he tried to bring her too. Seeing there was no chance of that, he tried to cover her with the peaces of her kimono. He carefully picked her up in his arms and left what was left of Naraku’s castle behind.

The hanyou’s stench lingered about her body, covering her natural scent.

He glanced down at the body he held in his arms and noticed all the cuts and bruises on it. He knew the girl must have put up quit a fight, although to no avail. He remembered seeing a dagger on the floor of the room. ‘She did put up a fight’ he told himself, unsure as to why this made such a difference.

He landed in a clearing, setting her down on the ground and waiting for her to wake up. There was a spring nearby and he went off in that direction, trying to put his thoughts in order.

He was worried about what she would do when she would wake. A demoness would take her own life rather than live with such a disgrace and he knew human females weren’t very different when it came to this sort of situations. He was worried about how she would react.

All of his brother’s companions intrigued him, but none more than this girl. She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere about two years ago. She was indeed different from the other ningen he had meat. Her clothes and smell were strange to him, not of this place and, he even thought, not of this time. Her attitude towards the world intrigued him the most, she never showed him fear, not even in battle, and she somehow managed to keep his brother under control. He always considered the girl a mystery and now she was a mystery he was stuck with.

He was planning the next destination in their journey when he felt her starting to move. He came by her side, feeling he had to be there when she did.

Kagome started to feel pain surge through her body once more. This meant she was conscious again, though if this was a good or a bad thing, she wasn’t so sure.

She carefully opened her eyes, realizing she was no longer in Naraku’s castle. Fear, already present in her system, immediately took over, her instinct of survival telling her she got out of danger only to fall in again.

He could definitely sense the increase in her heart rate and her fear. It was the first time he ever remembered her showing fear toward him.

Still a bit confused, she stared into his golden eyes. At first she thought it was Inuyasha. She soon realized it wasn’t. It was Sesshoumaru. He was studying her, which made her realize the state she was in. She tried to get away from him, at the same time uselessly covering herself with what was left of the kimono she had on.

He pulled his gaze away from her for a moment and started to take off his armour. As he proceeded to take off his haori, flash-backs of what recently happened at Naraku’s castle started playing in her head, her fear turning into terror.

Her face mirrored her emotions perfectly. It was understandable that she felt this way after what happened to her, but there was no time to loose, waiting for her to calm down. He handed her the haori. “You should cover yourself, miko. It is not a very welcoming sight.” he told her in a tone harsher than he knew he should have.

She took the haori and turned around, vainly trying to hide what she knew he already saw. It covered about the same surface of her body as her uniform did.

“Come! We have to leave!” he told her as soon as she turned to face him.

She quietly obeyed him, still not trusting her voice. He scooped her up in his arms, her little body tensing and shivering under his touch. He wondered if she was going to be like this all the way to Haruko’s cave.

After a few minutes of flying, she started to relax, other feelings starting to take over her exhausted body. She closed her eyes, not wanting to have to face him anymore.

He could sense the salt of her tears and, after a while, he could even feel them come in contact with his body.

 

~~~+++~~~

 

Kagome woke up on a stone bed, somewhere in a cave. She looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where Sesshoumaru could be. Instead of him, all she saw was a large collection of bottles and potions and an old woman fiddling around her. The woman’s skin was white and dry and she was dressed in a light blue kimono. She smiled kindly at Kagome, her vivid green eyes lighting up even more.

She moved closer to the girl.

“Ah, you’re awake!” she exclaimed “I thought it would take longer, but it seems you are stronger than others think. The potion had time to work though.”

Kagome looked at herself, noticing her body was healed from most of her physical injuries. She vaguely remembered being given something to drink while she was still conscious, just after they landed in front of the cave, and then falling into a deep sleep, devoid of dreams. She could still feel pain in her neck, where Naraku had marked her. She reached up to touch the spot that betrayed the horrible things that happened to her in the last days.

The old woman looked at the girl’s gesture with concern. “Unfortunately, no potion can heal that wound,” the old woman said, gently raising the girl’s chin, so she could face her.

Kagome turned around, not wanting to face the kindness in the woman’s eyes. She felt dirty and guilty for not being able to fight her way out. She was still quiet. She hadn’t uttered a word since she was left by Naraku all alone in that dark room.

The old woman left her side and started to look through her collection of bottles.

It took a few minutes before she came back to Kagome, having found what she was looking for.

“You probably want to take a bath,” she told her, taking her hand and helping her off the bed.

Kagome silently nodded.

“Come, I will show you to the spring.”

She handed her the little bottle she took earlier.

“This should take his scent off of you and I shall bring you a clean kimono to wear,” she said, guiding Kagome through the maze of tunnels in the cave.

At her words, Kagome realized she was still wearing Sesshoumaru’s haori. Thinking of him, she realized he probably just dropped her off here to get rid of her.

“Where…where is Sesshoumaru?” she asked hesitantly. She didn’t know why, but she felt she needed his presence.

The old woman smiled.

“He’s outside, I couldn’t let him see you like this,” she said, a bit amused at her hesitation and at the fact that _these_ were the first words the girl spoke since she got here.

Kagome took a better look at the strange woman in front of her and asked the other thing she was curious about, “And you are..?”

She placed a comforting hand on the girls shoulder and said in a serious voice, “I am the old woman Haruko, the only person Sesshoumaru really fears,” and then her face broke into a smile.

 


	6. Trying to Forget

 

Kagome was fiercely scrubbing her skin, trying to get rid of Naraku’s scent and the feel of his touch. But, no matter how much she scrubbed or how much of Haruko’s lotions she used, it was impossible to remove it. Her skin had now taken a pinkish shade from the hot water and all the scrubbing and still she insisted. She wanted to get Naraku’s presence off of her body.

Tears began to run down her face, combining with the water from the hot spring.

The scent of wiled flowers, from the lotion from Haruko, filled the air, calming her a little. She tried to relax and think of something other than what had happened to her. Of course it was impossible. Who could relax and think of something else after something like this happened?

Although her wounds had healed with the old woman’s help, her soul still bared the marks of the humiliation and torture Naraku had inflicted on her. She had been rendered helpless and had been deprived of her most precious possession, her innocence.

On top of all that, the one who saved her was none other than Sesshoumaru, the heartless youkai who had threatened their lives numerous times. She had no idea what he was doing there in the first place or what made him save her, he could have just left her there.

There were too many pieces that didn’t fall into place, nothing seemed to fit. The strangest piece of the puzzle was this old woman, Haruko. Kagome was grateful for her help, but she couldn’t help but think that she had some secret interest in the course of these events.

Sinking deeper into the pool of water, the young girl decided it was too much for her troubled mind to handle at the moment and allowed sleep to take her over. It was the only thing she could do at the moment, maybe it would clear her thoughts and allow her to find a solution to her predicament.

Her heavy eyelids closed, bringing her into a liquid world of silence. For the first time, the silence calmed her instead of bringing fear to her. She allowed the gentle movements of the water around her to filter into her dream and the darkness to engulf her. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. She was going to think about this later, when she’ll be awake and the harsh reality outside will threaten her again.

 

~~~+++~~~

 

Sesshoumaru was standing in the middle of Haruko’s quarters, waiting for the old woman to come back.

He was wearing a new haori, his old one, drenched in Naraku’s scent and the girl’s blood, currently fueling the fire that warmed the cave dwelling.

Seeing the old woman took her time, he started pacing the room.

He started to think about Naraku’s twisted plan. This was the lowest a demon could stoop to achieve his goals, but, then again, this was Naraku. The hanyou had no honor and this was just the means to an end.

A plan was starting to form in Sesshoumaru’s mind. If it would work out, these events were going to be the means to Naraku’s end, for good.

Haruko entered the room, interrupting his thinking. He turned around to face his host.

She had a grave look on her face, her vivid green eyes now a stormy color.

“I didn’t sense any other presence with the girl so, I guess, he didn’t manage to impregnate her. Unfortunately, I can’t tell how much damage he did to her spirit,” she stated.

Sesshoumaru looked at her with his usual cold eyes, with the girl here, he couldn’t allow himself to act too familiar around this old woman, although ‘familiar’ wasn’t exactly the word that would fit the demon lord’s behavior around the old woman.

“This means he has not achieved the first part of his plan. What about the second?” he asked, worried about what Haruko’s answer would be.

The woman’s eyes closed for a moment. “I told you, I can’t tell about the second part yet. This girl’s heart works differently than other ningen’s. She is different.”

After a few moments of silence, Haruko started again. “I understand she is very close to your brother, Inuyasha.” The look Sesshoumaru gave her told her everything. “This will make things easier.”

“Will make what easier? You are always so cryptic Haruko-san,” the youkai lord asked.

“It’s very simple, you know,” she continued. “The girl is very vulnerable now. If Naraku gets to her again, the outcome could be fatal. Although I think your brother is stronger than he looks and has taken care of her so far…” her remark earning her a slight growl from the lord “and he is very close to her indeed.”

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms over his chest. “What does this have to do with this Sesshoumaru?” he asked calmly.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“You want me to what?”

The shout reached her in the darkness and brought her back to the reality of her surroundings. She realized she must have fallen asleep in the hot spring.

How long did she sleep? Long enough for the others to forget about her presence, it seemed.

She looked around, trying to figure out who the voice belonged to. It seemed familiar, but it couldn’t have been, could it? It sounded like Sesshoumaru, but what could make the great youkai lord of the Western Lands lose his temper like that?

She carefully got out of the water, dried herself with a soft towel and slipped into the kimono Haruko had given her earlier. It was a white kimono with blue flowers on it. She wrapped the obi around her waist as well as she could. When all her preparations were done, she made her way through the maze of galleries that made up the cavern until she reached the room she woke up in.

Haruko looked determined as she stared down an equally determined Sesshoumaru.

“You have no choice,” she told him, unaware of Kagome’s presence. “And you will do as I said,” Haruko was growing impatient. She had spent the last half hour trying to convince Sesshoumaru to go along with her plan. She had tried everything from begging to threats, nothing worked.

Sesshoumaru moved his attention from the old woman and noticed Kagome hiding in the corridor that lead to the hot spring. “Than you should tell her as well,” he said, betraying Kagome’s presence.

Haruko turned around to look at the unexpected guest. She had hoped the girl would sleep a little longer; this was a complication to her plans. She couldn’t just tell the girl what she had in store for her, her trust was limited as it was. She gave Sesshoumaru a warning look before turning to Kagome.

“Child, you shall return with lord Sesshoumaru to his castle.” She paused, giving the said youkai another look. “I believe your friends are there…” she continued, “and you are to stay there under Sesshoumaru’s protection.”

Kagome gulped, moving her gaze from the old woman to Sesshoumaru and back to Haruko. Having to host her and her friends, especially Inuyasha, could explain his outburst from earlier. If that was the case, her stay at the castle would be a very … interesting experience.

Haruko helped Kagome to the bed she woke up on. After motioning for her to sit, the old woman started fiddling around, preparing tea. It seemed an odd thing to do, considering the circumstances. She looked at Sesshoumaru who, as usual, was very quiet. She had no idea why the old woman chose him to take care of her, or how she afforded ordering him around.

The cold youkai intrigued her. She felt somewhat safe around him and wondered why he saved her and how did he know she was there. She looked at him carefully. His arms were crossed across his chest and he seemed to be thinking about something important. ‘Arms?’ she thought ‘He only had one, right? Inuyasha cut off his other hand. What’s going o here?’ she asked herself. His left hand looked as if it had been there for ever, it couldn’t have been another ‘borrowed’ arm, like the one he got from Naraku. As she studied his arms further, she couldn’t help but remember how safe she felt when he held her.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the youkai was looking at her as well. When she came out of it, she found his golden eyes sustaining her own gaze. What startled her was that he didn’t look at her as he did before, when they were on different sides of the barricade. His eyes held curiosity and the slightest hint of admiration toward her. She found she couldn’t take her eyes away from his. She felt mesmerized.

Haruko handed her a cup of tea, snapping her back to reality. Sesshoumaru used this moment as well to break from her spell. He wouldn’t admit it, but he felt as if he couldn’t get his eyes off the girl. He saw her study his features and that, when she realized she had been spotted, her cheeks started to turn pink. By the time Haruko saved her by giving her the cup of tea, she had turned a deep shade of red. Maybe there was still hope for her yet.

Kagome sipped her tea quietly, finding it very relaxing. When she was finished, she felt a drowsiness overcome her and sleep taking over her body.

“I think it’s safe to talk now,” Haruko told him, knowing Kagome was now enjoying a dreamless slumber.

 

~~~+++~~~

 

A red eyed demoness was kneeling on the floor in front of a dark haired youkai. She was intently fixing the floor with her eyes, avoiding the man’s presence. He held something in his hand, squeezing it slightly. His action made the woman in front of him squint her eyes in pain.

“My dear Kagura,” he said, placing a clawed finger under her chin and forcing her to look at him. “You forget I created you?” he said. He tightened his grip on the object, making her let out a moan of pain. “You forget I own you?” he continued, increasing the pain she felt by pricking her skin with his claw. “You are nothing without me. If I die, you die, it’s that simple,” he said, forcing her chin higher “You will die!”

The woman looked him in blood colored eyes. Her own ruby eyes held flames in them. “I think I’ll take my chances,” she said firmly. She wasn’t going to crumble at his feet, not now.

“Very well then!” he said. He took his finger from under her chin and opened his other hand. With his claw, he started gently poking at the object in his other hand. “You wouldn’t!” she said.

His claw pierced the surface of the object.

Her scream told him it was enough for now. He looked at her.

She fell to the ground, squirming from the pain, but she never pleaded for her life. She had her hands pressed on her chest, over the spot her heart should have been. Her eyes were clouded with unshed tears and, despite the occasional screams of pain, she never told him to stop, she hadn’t pleaded for his forgiveness or mercy, like she had done before.

He stopped, unable to get the wanted reaction out of her.

“This is your last warning Kagura,” he told her calmly. “Don’t forget, I hold your life and your freedom in my hands. One more attempt like that and you will meet your end.”

She didn’t say a word, watching him as he left the room. She was now alone, still holding back the tears. She had to get out of this, even if it meant her death. Anything was better than being his slave. She lay there on the floor for a few more hours, knowing no one would miss her, trying to catch her breath again.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Inuyasha woke up with a feeling of dejá vu. As his drowsiness wore off, he could clearly distinguish his friends’ faces around him. Shippou was inevitably sitting on his shoulder, screaming “You’re awake!” in his ear after he opened his eyes.

The only differences from before were the lack of pain in his shoulder and the kitsune youkai that stood in the door frame.

The said kitsune gave him a concerned look, seeing the frown that formed on Inuyasha’s face when he recognized him.

“Sesshoumaru’s orders” he said and left them alone.

“I don’t think I like him,” Shippou told the others. He jumped in Sango’s arms, knowing Inuyasha wasn’t too friendly when he woke up under such circumstances.

“How do you feel?” Miroku asked. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”

Inuyasha jumped.

“Two days? Where’s Kagome?” he asked, hoping his friend would be there by now.

“She’s not here,” the monk answered. “And neither is Sesshoumaru.” The looks of his friends clearly expressed his own feelings.

Inuyasha got out of bed, intent on finding the kitsune and getting some information out of him. He left the room with Miroku close behind him; someone had to make sure Inuyasha didn’t do anything foolish while in his brother’s home.

Sango and Shippou were left alone in the room, looking at each other in silence. Their attention was captured by a small giggle coming from the doorway.

It was a little girl, human from the looks of it. She had been spying on them since they got there, never having the courage to approach them.

Shippou jumped from Sango’s arms and went after the girl.

“It’s not polite to spy on people!” he said.

By the time he reached the door, the girl wasn’t there anymore, or so it seemed.

The toad youkai Sesshoumaru had for a servant appeared out of nowhere looking confused.

“Rin, come out at once! Sesshoumaru-sama said not to let you in this side of the castle and you want to get me in trouble again!” he kept yelling. He never even noticed Shippou standing there. “Come out at once annoying little child!” His worries were reworded with a giggle coming from behind a large flower pot.

Shippou realized where the girl had disappeared to.

The little girl popped out from behind the flower pot, scaring the daylights out of the toad.

“Hai, Jaken-sama, I’m here!” she said in a playful voice.

Shippou couldn’t help smile when he saw her. She was about eight years old, two years younger than him, and looked a lot like Kagome would have looked at that age, at least how he imagined her to look. She had a mischievous smile on her face as the green youkai approached her.

“Come here at once!” he told her, a bit annoyed he had to come all the way here to get her, he hated having to see Inuyasha and his ningen friends in his master’s castle.

“I’m coming, Jaken-sama,” she told him, but added in a playful voice, “Only you’ll have to catch Rin first.” With that she took off, grabbing Shippou’s hand in the process. She guided him to the garden in an attempt to get away from her ugly babysitter.

“Do something!” she told Shippou once they reached the garden.

“Do what?” the kit asked her in return. “What exactly are you up to?” he asked her suspiciously.

“Please!” she told him, pinning him with the most convincing puppy eyes the boy ever saw (besides the ones he used when he wanted to get anything from Kagome). “I have to get away from him, he’s boring and Rin wants to play. He’ll send me to my room, he’s always grumpy when my Sesshoumaru-sama isn’t around,” she told him.

“Rin, come here at once! A good little girl doesn’t run around like a wiled beast through the castle. Sesshoumaru-sama said not to disturb his guests!” Jaken’s voice could be heard in the distance.

“Please!” she tried again, puppy eyes back in action.

Shippou just couldn’t resist anymore. “Only this time!” he told her as he grabbed her hand and started looking for a god hiding place.

They eventually found some bushes. He told her to hide in them and transformed himself into a bush to hide her better.

Jaken went past them without even suspecting they could be there. After some more searching, he decided they must have hid somewhere in the castle, so he decided to look for them there. ‘Some kami really has it in for me!’ he told himself.

After making sure the coast was clear, Shippou popped back to his normal self. Rin looked at him with amazement.

“Sugoi!” was all she could say. “Come on!” she said, taking his hand again.

“Where?” the little kit asked, smiling at the girl’s excitement.

“To play, of course. I’m Rin!”

With that, she dragged him to a nearby lake.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome woke up a little drowsy, suspecting the tea had something to do with it.

She looked around, not seeing anyone in the room. She stood up, feeling the room was spinning with her. Again, a side effect of the tea. She focused all her power in her senses. She eventually got up and noticed breakfast was waiting for her. She was so hungry she didn’t even pay attention to what she ate. When she finished, she turned around to find Haruko standing there.

“I’m glad you’re awake child,” she said. “Come, I have something to tell you.”

Kagome did as she was told, following the old woman outside.

Haruko looked a bit worried and didn’t seem to know how to start. After moments of hesitation, she finally spoke.

“First, I have to give you my apologies child. I believe you already suspect what for, but I’ll say it anyway. I was worried about how you would react after what happened to you so I used a potion of mine that is supposed to make you forget.”

Kagome, despite still feeling the effects of the potion, was shocked to find she had been drugged. “It was the tea, right?” she asked.

“Hai. That and the lotion I gave you for your bath. I thought the best thing for you was to forget what happened,” Haruko told her.

Hearing her, Kagome realized she was probably right. She definitely wanted to forget and was about to tell Haruko that she actually wanted her help to forget when Haruko continued her confession.

“But, after the talk I had with Sesshoumaru, and considering the circumstances, I believe he is right. It is better if you deal with this on your own.”

Kagome was a bit upset about this, she knew Sesshoumaru was still their enemy, but he did rescue her. She shivered at the thought that, despite feeling safe in his arms, he might be an equally large threat to her as the one she thought she had escaped. She looked at Haruko, determined to get an answer.

“And … what are the circumstances?” she asked, hoping this was the right question.

Haruko took her time to answer. “You are the one that was entrusted the Shinkon no Tama, are you not?” she eventually said.

Kagome looked at her confused, but answered, “You could say that, yeah.”

“You are. For a hanyou such as Naraku to use the jewel, it needs to be tainted. Only there is a problem, despite all the evil that lurks in his heart and all the evil he can use on it, there is something that prevents the jewel from becoming corrupt. I am talking about the pure heart of the guardian.”

Kagome was baffled, it was the first time she heard about this. She knew she had the power to purify the Shinkon and that her heart had a lot to do with it. She also knew that if the jewel was in the possession of an evil youkai, or hanyou as was Naraku’s case, it became corrupt and gave its owner immense power. But what this old woman was telling her was all new. She was telling her that the jewel was affected by her even if it wasn’t in her possession or even presence.

Kagome didn’t get to ask anything and Haruko didn’t get to tell her more about the matter because of Sesshoumaru’s intervention.

“We need to get back to the castle by noon. I suggest you join me, miko,” he stated coldly, giving Haruko an icy stare. It was clear he didn’t approve of the old woman telling Kagome what was going on. She pondered why he acted like this, but decided it was best if she did what she was told.

She went outside to find Sesshoumaru’s two headed dragon waiting for her. She was a bit confused as to what to do until Sesshoumaru motioned for her to climb on the creature. A frightened Kagome did her best to get in the saddle while Sesshoumaru had one last talk with the old woman.

“So this was where you were off,” Haruko observed after seeing the beast.

“I figured she wasn’t very comfortable in the presence of this Sesshoumaru so I made sure she had appropriate transportation to the castle,” he answered in an uncharacteristically long phrase.

Haruko looked at him in mock suspicion. “I don’t really know about ‘comfortable’,” she stated. “I do however hope you will go through with the plan.”

She was rewarded with a cold glare from the youkai lord.

“This Sesshoumaru doesn’t take orders from anyone. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure Naraku’s downfall. Other that that, I have no other interest to associate with ningen,” he stated in response.

“I don’t think you have a choice this time” Haruko continued.

Sesshoumaru’s patience was reaching its end. “I only thank whichever kami stopped you from telling her everything. I thought we agreed she wouldn’t find out the real reasons behind what happened to her. It is hard enough to deal with something like this without knowing the purpose behind it” he growled barely audible.

Haruko looked at him in surprise. “It looks like there is no need for more pressure, you will eventually give in,” she stated.

“Not even one of your spells could get me to obey you in this twisted plan of yours,” he said so as not to be heard by Kagome.

“Oh, there is no breaking this spell, and it’s not one of mine,” the old woman said.

Without even answering her, Sesshoumaru turned around and made his way to Kagome who was waiting for him on AhUn. He summoned his cloud and rose to the air, AhUn behind him and Kagome riding sidesaddle on its back.

Their journey presented no important events, Sesshoumaru looking at Kagome every now and then with a strange mixture of feelings barely visible in his golden eyes. Kagome thought she could distinguish pity, hate, regret and even worry in his eyes, but wasn’t sure if it was real or just her imagination and, if it was real, whom or what were those feelings directed to.

She was still a bit tired and every time she let her subconscious take over, all she could see were flashbacks of Naraku and what he did to her. Haruko’s words kept coming to her mind in her waking moments. She wasn’t the unfortunate victim of circumstances as she would have been in her time; she was the carefully selected pray of a dangerous predator. This thought brought more fear into her heart.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kana looked over the suffering elder woman that lay on the floor before her. The girl had a disapproving look on her normally expressionless face. “Why do you always have to do this?” she asked her.

Kagura painfully opened her eyes but didn’t answer the girl.

“We owe our every breath to Naraku, yet you always defy him. Look at you, your very existence is in the purpose of serving him, what good would come to you if he dies or you _escape_?” the girl asked.

Kagura’s pupilless eyes stared into Kana’s blank ones. She got off the floor with great effort and left for the door. Sliding the shoji aside, she turned to the little girl. “What do you know? You’re just a shadow!” she said leaving the room.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It was about noon and Inuyasha still couldn’t find a trace of Youko. He searched everywhere. The kitsune was nowhere to be found.

He was now going to find his friends when he saw Jaken run like crazy to the entrance.

His stepbrother was probably coming home so Kagome was probably with him. He followed the toad to see if he was right.

He saw the two headed dragon that usually accompanied his brother, but he distinctly remembered that the creature wasn’t with them when they went in search of Kagome.

Sesshoumaru was trying to ignore his servant who kept complaining about Rin running off who knows where.

He finally saw Kagome getting off of the creature. He ran to greet her.

He was at an arm’s length away from her when Sesshoumaru stopped him. It was than that Inuyasha noticed the frightened look on his friend’s face.

“What happened to her?” he demanded.

Sesshoumaru gave him a warning look and answered by asking him back “What do you think could happen to her while in Naraku’s possession?”

The hanyou didn’t think of the implications his brother’s question held. All possible forms of torture ran through his mind, his eyes never moving away from Kagome.

“She doesn’t have any marks on her,” he stated confusedly.

Kagome instinctively put her hand over the mark Naraku left on her body, still feeling the pain.

“I took her to a healer first; does that satisfy your curiosity little brother?” Sesshoumaru answered him.

Inuyasha wanted to say something but was cut off by the elder demon.

“Hiei, tell Youko to meet us in my study!” Sesshoumaru seemed to say to no one in particular.

After a bit of thinking, Inuyasha remembered that the short fire youkai’s name was Hiei.

“Good, I have a few thoughts to share with that kitsune,” he stated and went ahead into the castle.

“Inuyasha, this business concerns only the three of us,” Sesshoumaru stopped him.

“But… Kagome…?” Inuyasha tried to counter.

Kagome was silent while Sesshoumaru helped her to the castle.

Baffled, Inuyasha just stood there, looking as the two as they disappeared inside.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A tall silver haired kitsune youkai was already waiting for them when they reached Sesshoumaru’s study.

Before Sesshoumaru could say anything, the young man walked over to Kagome and politely bowed in front of her. “So you must be the reason behind all the commotion. I must admit you do live up to my expectations. I am Youko Kurama, at your service”

Kagome was a bit startled by the way he introduced himself, while Sesshoumaru gave him a warning look accompanied by a barely audible growl.

Youko immediately took his distance, knowing he was trotting on dangerous territory. He knew what the girl probably went through and that his behavior wasn’t exactly recommended, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Youko is going to help protect you,” Sesshoumaru told her. “Do not worry; he is not a threat to you. He knows all too well what would happen to him if he tries anything,” he stated.

Youko smirked “You really know how to make the girls like me, don’t you, old friend?” the kitsune asked. “Don’t worry, I’m not as bad as they say,” he told her.

Kagome didn’t know if she should be amused or frightened by the kitsune and his introduction. She didn’t sense any threat from him, just like she felt about Sesshoumaru. She was confused that two youkai, one she never meat before and one that tried to kill her numerous times, were the only beings she trusted at the moment.

She was worried about her friends reactions if they knew what happened to her. They would pity her and probably think she was week for letting Naraku take her (at least, this was how Inuyasha would surely react). And if that wasn’t the case, she would definitely have to see the pain in their eyes, the guilt for not being there to save her and would blame themselves for her suffering.

The sound of Sesshoumaru’s voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“A servant is waiting for you in the hall. She will take you to your room in the eastern wing, where your friends are also housed. You will stay at the castle as long as necessary and are not allowed to go outside without an escort,” he told her and motioned for her to leave.

She did as she was told, knowing there was no arguing with the lord of the Western Lands.

After she left, Sesshoumaru turned to Youko. “I think now is the time for some explanations,” he told the kitsune.

Youko simply nodded his head.

Sesshoumaru told him what he knew of Naraku’s plans and explained the state he found Kagome in. he didn’t have to go into details with his suspicions, the fox having an active enough imagination to picture the events in high detail. Despite what had happened to them in the past, the two were still friends and Sesshoumaru knew he can trust the kitsune with something of such importance.

“I do warn you. If you try anything with her, you will suffer the consequences,” he warned the kitsune.

Youko looked at him with an offended look in his eyes. “You don’t have to warn me about that. Despite my reputation, I do have a heart. She’s been through enough. I’ll do my best to keep her safe,” he promised.

This was not the Sesshoumaru he remembered. If he recalled correctly, Sesshoumaru despised humans and all they stood for. This girl must have done something really special to impress the cold hearted inu youkai to the level that he would even allow her friends to stay with him.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou had seen Kagome arrive and, seeing he couldn’t go to her right away, he decided to spy on their conversation, to be able to be the first one to talk to her once she left Sesshoumaru’s study.

After Sesshoumaru told her she could leave, he was intent to follow his plan but the conversation their host was about to have with the silver kitsune sparkled his interest so he decided to stay a little longer.

To his shock, the little kit heard everything is best friend and adoptive mother had gone through. Though he didn’t understand everything that had happened, he understood enough. With tears in his eyes, he ran to his room to find Sango and get her to help him comfort Kagome. He didn’t tell Sango all he heard, knowing it was Kagome’s secret.

When they reached Kagome’s room, they found that she had locked herself in, not wanting to talk to anyone. Despite all their pleads and banging, the girl refused to open the door.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Walking down the halls of Naraku’s castle, Kagura bumped into an all too familiar miko. The two sized each other down. Seeing as neither of them backed down, they eventually continued their own way.

 

 


	7. Nightmares, Torture and Weakness

 

Her friends were at her door, begging her to open. She didn’t want to see them just yet. She didn’t want to face their worried looks.

For the past four hours she had been ignoring their calls and she was going to do so until they got tired and left her alone. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to happen any time soon since they seemed to take turns outside her door.

First it had been just Sango and Shippou, the two of them begging her to let them in. She knew they were honestly worried about her, but she just couldn’t get herself to face them. After about thirty minutes, the two of them seemed to tire. She was so wrong. Miroku joined their efforts to coax her out of her room, while Shippou apparently went after Inuyasha.

While the two men tried to convince her to talk to them or at least to Sango. In the meantime, Sango and Shippou disappeared.

They returned an hour ago with food, insisting she got something to eat. The two were waiting by the door for hunger to draw her out and had sent Inuyasha and Miroku to get what they could out of Sesshomaru.

She was really starting to miss Haruko’s drugs as a major headache made itself known to her.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Miroku and Inuyasha had been trying to talk to Sesshomaru for the last hour or so, but the youkai lord had locked himself in his study, avoiding interruptions. They decided to split up, Miroku waiting for the taiyokai to come out, while Inuyasha sat out to find Youko.

After waiting and waiting, he finally decided to take a chance and enter the forbidden territory. He knocked and waited for a replay. Despite the absence of such a thing, he made his way inside, carefully opening the door and peering inside, praying he’ll get out of this in one peace.

Sesshomaru was looking over some messages that were brought to him from the other youkai lords. He was reading a letter, the monk’s entrance distracting him from his lecture. He gave him a cold look and waited for him to state his purpose.

Miroku bowed politely, addressing the youkai in a respectful tone. “Pardon my intrusion, Sesshomaru-sama. I believe that, at the moment you are the only one that can inform us on the events surrounding Kagome’s capture.”

Inuyasha’s brother looked at him with indifference.

“I believe she is the best source for this information,” he said matter-of-factly.

Miroku wasn’t at all surprised by the answer he received.

“She doesn’t seem to want to tell us. She has locked herself in her room and won’t even let Sango in,” Miroku informed him.

Sesshomaru just looked at the monk. If the girl didn’t want to tell her about what she had been through, than why should he? He decided to say nothing more and waited for the monk to get the point and leave. To his surprise, the human was quick to catch on to the implied meaning to his silence.

With a polite bow, Miroku made is way out of Sesshomaru’s study.

Once outside, Miroku released the breath he had been holding and sighed in relief. He was in one piece though he couldn’t get anything out of their host. He just hoped Inuyasha had more luck.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Inuyasha had decided to find the kitsune and try to get some information out of him. He was sure Sesshomaru must have told him something and he was intent on finding out what.

Following his scent, he found himself outside Sesshomaru’s castle.

Sniffing around, he realized he had lost the scent track, but another familiar smell reached his sensitive nostrils. The wind carried the smell of earth and death, a smell he had come to associate with the presence of Kikyou. He looked around trying to find her to no avail. In stead, he could sense her scent intensify and decided to meat her half way.

Coming to a clearing in the forest surrounding the castle, he found himself in the presence of the woman he had once truly loved. He studied her for a moment. She was just as he always remembered her from their days fifty years ago. He was now well aware that this was no longer his Kikyou; she was just a shadow of what she once was. He had given up on his plans to be with her and had told her so. What she was doing here was a mystery to him.

She turned slowly to look at him. Even in death, her grace and beauty surpassed that of her reincarnation. Despite this, he had made a choice, he had chosen Kagome, the one that loved him unconditionally and wanted him to be himself. Her presence here, now, made him feel as if her were betraying her.

Kikyou approached him with a calm smile plastered on her face.

“It’s been a long time Inuyasha” she said softly.

A shiver ran down the hanyou’s spine at hearing her. He couldn’t help himself from being enchanted by her, even if he knew she was only fake.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her in a tone warmer than he intended. His amber eyes settled on her brown ones and kept contact as she slowly approached him.

With an eerie calm look in her eyes she gazed up to him. “I believe you have some questions about my reincarnation’s faith up to this moment. More exactly, you want to know what happened to her at Naraku’s,” she answered his question. His surprise was expected and she continued, “What do you think happened?”

Inuyasha looked at her in confusion. How did she know what worried him and how did she know the answer? He nodded for an answer and awaited her explanations. As he expected, the answers didn’t take long to arrive, the only problem was he wasn’t so sure he wanted to hear them.

Kikyou reached a hand to cup his chin and started her story. “Naraku is preparing for battle,” she stated, earning a ‘what does this have to do with Kagome’ look from Inuyasha. “He wants Kagome’s help to achieve his goals. To be more specific, Kagome now belongs to him,” she told him.

Inuyasha looked at her in disbelief. “Why should I believe this?” he asked her. “Kagome was just prisoner, right? She looked alright, there were no marks on her body,” he said in one breath. He suspected what Kikyou was employing but refused to believe her.

Kikyou gave him a knowing look. “I never said it was against her will. From what I know, she was quite welcoming,” she lied. She knew the chances of him believing her were small, but she could only hope to get doubt grow in his heart.

Inuyasha looked at his former love. “Stop this, you’re only putting yourself in a bad light,” he told her. “Kagome would never do something like this.” He refused to believe something like this, Kagome would never accept Naraku in such a way. This time, Kikyou had crossed the line.

In a last attempt to turn him against the girl from the future, she started, “Fine, don’t believe me. All you need to do is see her mark, that should prove I told you the truth. She has accepted Naraku as her mate and there is nothing you can do about it,” she told him. Sesshomaru’s intervention worked in Naraku’s benefit after all. The fact that all the wounds had healed worked in their favor and was going to get the plan moving faster. “You have lost to Naraku once more, I really feel sorry for you,” she said before taking her leave.

A now confused Inuyasha was now heading back to his brother’s castle, intent on finding some answers.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome decided it was best to get some sleep. She couldn’t stand Sango’s worries. It felt like her friend knew something about what happened and she was worried about that. She didn’t want her friends to know what Naraku had done. She was sure Sesshomaru would keep this quiet and she seemed to trust Youko for some unknown reason. As for her friends, she didn’t want them hurt and she felt confused about her feeling and fears at the moment.

She let sleep overcome her and welcomed its dark embrace of forgettness.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sango was truly worried about Kagome. Shippou had told her what he heard Sesshomaru comment to Youko and the little details the kit gave her were enough for her to get the picture of what Kagome had gone through. She wanted to be there for her and give her comfort now that she was going through something like this. It was the least she could do considering she wasn’t there to stop this in the first place.

Realizing that Kagome had gone to sleep, they decided to abandon their efforts to get her out of her room. They were now in Inuyasha’s room trying to make sense of the current situation.

Sango was unsure if she should tell the others what Shippou had told her. Knowing how the kit got the information, she decided it was best to keep quiet until Kagome decided to talk.

Miroku was still pondering over what could have brought Kagome in such a state that she wouldn’t even talk with her friends and why was Sesshomaru helping them. He had the impression everything was part of a plan only he did not know who was orchestrating everything.

Only Inuyasha was suspiciously quiet. He was sitting across from them and trying to give the impression that nothing was wrong with him.

In reality, his mind was working overtime, trying to figure out if what Kikyou had told him was true or not. He couldn’t get himself to believe her but she had managed to bring doubt in his heart. Maybe Kagome did do all Kikyou said, but she must have had an important reason to. She just couldn’t have given herself over to Naraku like this.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Everything around her was darkness. She was alone, unable to move and unable to speak. Her lips moved, but no sound escaped them. She tried to scream and all she could hear was silence.

She tried to move, but her limbs didn’t answer her brain. It was as though she was trapped in her own body. She couldn’t even see her body, her eyes staring into the darkness above her. Despite all this, she could still feel. Something heavy was lying on top of her, an unwanted weight kept her from breathing normally, her wrists and ankles hurt as if something was keeping her pinned down and a shearing pain crossed her body, starting at the spot where her neck and her shoulder meat.

Her breath stopped as a face materialized before her eyes. I was Naraku. He was looking into her eyes with blood colored ones. “Why are you afraid, little miko?” he asked innocently.

She tried to break free from her imprisonment, only to find the cause of her immobility. She was shackled to some sort of table in front of the hanyou. The more she tried to escape, the tighter the shackles got, making her feel the excruciating pain of steal digging into her flesh.

He trailed a finger down her body. She realized she was wearing her old uniform. Despite this, she felt naked under his piercing gaze and her body ached under his touch.

“Why so tens?” he asked her in a sickening sweet voice. “You were mine once and you will be min again, as many times as I want,” he continued.

He caressed the mark he left on her body the last time they meat. “Come to think of it, you _are_ mine forever,” he said with a smirk.

She wanted to tell him to live her alone, to take his hands off of her, but she couldn’t. The sounds just didn’t want to leave her lips.

He placed a hand on her chest and felt it directly on her skin. She looked down at herself to find she was wearing nothing but the Shikon no Tama. The jewel was a dark crimson color, the same as Naraku’s eyes, and she realized that was the weight she felt earlier. The jewel’s weight increased with her fear as Naraku’s hand eventually reached her face. He placed a finger oh her lips and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. His lips barely touched her skin as his words made their way to her brain.

“I think I shall have you tonight,” he told her, then moved in to kiss her.

Her lips were squished under his in a violent kiss. One of his fangs grazed her lower lip in the process and she could feel the taste of own blood in her mouth.

Before anything else happened, her eyes jutted open and she found herself standing on the bed. Instinctively, one of her hands reached to her lips and the other one to her neck, looking for the jewel.

The jewel wasn’t there. Why would it be? It’s been almost a year and a half since Kikyou stole it from her.

Her lips were swollen, a small trail of blood coming from her bottom lip. She was breathing faster and she felt her body covered in sweat. It was just a dream, but who knows what would have happened to her if she didn’t wake up when she did.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Everyone was worried about Kagome. It was a mystery how this girl managed to win everyone’s hearts to such an extent that they would literally camp outside her door hoping she would eventually come out.

Sesshomaru was looking at his brother’s friends taking turns to watch the girl’s door. They all seemed to admit she needed space, but thought she also needed someone to confide in. and, of course, they all thought themselves to be best suited to listen.

The only one missing was Inuyasha, he noticed. The hanyou kept disappearing to the gardens every once in a while, heading to the forest. He seemed to be looking for something. It wouldn’t have had any importance to the youkai lord if it weren’t for the sent of death and earth that he caught yesterday. It was the scent that accompanied the dead miko, the one Inuyasha used to be in love with.

He couldn’t care less if the idiot was seeing her or not, although the miko would probably have a hard time accepting this. She seemed to be very close to his brother. The only problem he saw in this series of events was the fact that the dead miko worked for Naraku. If that was the case, he would have to take care of the problem.

He was going back to his study. Here he found someone waiting for him. It was the tayjia, the girl’s best friend from what he could remember. He remembered not seeing her outside the girl’s room with the others so she must have been waiting for him here.

She approached him carefully and respectfully, just like the monk had. With the required bow, she started “I am most grateful of your hospitality Sesshomaru-sama and I hope you will excuse my intrusion.”

He gave no answer but let her understand she could continue. And so she did. He had a suspicion about what she was going to ask him, but she managed to surprise him completely.

Without warning, she jumped right to the point. “I know what happened to Kagome,” she stated. “What I don’t know is why you refuse to tell us, my lord,” she continued.

Sesshoumaru looked at her for a second. “It was not my place to say anything about this,” he stated. “Now that she has told you, I believe you can desoccupy the hallway and let the girl rest,” he told her.

Sango looked at him as if he were Inuyasha. “She hasn’t told us anything. You think she had the courage to tell us about something like this?” she asked, her tone rising. “Miroku and Inuyasha have no idea about what happened and I hope Inuyasha wouldn’t have to find out soon,” she told him with tears in her eyes. She was certain Inuyasha wouldn’t be able to take something like this. She raised her eyes to look at him.

“For now, me and Shippou are the only ones who know, he overheard you and Youko,” she told him, hoping this didn’t mean the kit’s end. After a pause that seemed eternal, she continued, “I want Kagome to come out because, if she is alone she might do something stupid, like try to hurt herself.”

With that, she bowed again and left the room, leaving the demon lord alone with his thoughts.

‘She might do something stupid.’ Her words rang in his ears, echoing his own fears from earlier. He was starting to worry now about what the girl would do if she was left alone longer. If she decided to take her life, she had to be stopped no mater how they were to accomplish this.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It had been two days since her nightmare. Since Naraku’s intrusion on her mind, she refused categorically to leave the safety of the room. Sango and the others had tried and tried to get her to come out, but to no avail. She was now sure Sango knew something and she suspected so did Shippou. She was hungry and tired yet she refused to let her friends in or allow herself to sleep.

It had been two days since her nightmare. Every time she closed her eyes, she found herself back in Naraku’s grasp, every time, he would remind her she was in his possession and, every time, he made sure she would doubt her friends.

She was afraid to close her eyes, fearing she would have to face his torture again, his lips slowly approaching her ear to whisper his venom, the pain she felt from trying to escape him and the weight of the jewel, the threat of him possessing her again, even if it was all just a nightmare.

She was afraid of what would happen to her if she wouldn’t wake up when he declared he wanted her. Every encounter left marks on her body and her soul, every touch, every kiss burning on her skin. She was sure that if she wouldn’t wake up on time she would have to go through everything again and not just in her mind.

She fought and fought until, eventually, her body could take no more. She needed sleep and her body reluctantly accepted the darkness that overtook her.

This time, she found herself chained to a wall, her hands shackled above her head. The jewel was in front of her, pulsing with dark energy. She forced her eyes away from it to study her new surroundings. Darkness everywhere, why was she not surprised?

“Look at me!” she heard the dreaded voice of her captor.

“Look at me!” he repeated his command. She knew where he was, she could sense his presence, but refused to do as told.

“Look at me!” he commanded in a firm voice, enforcing his order by using his clawed hand to make her turn her face to him. She was forced to comply. A sickening smile awaited her.

“That’s better!” he said. He tucked some stray strands of hair behind her ears so he could get a better look at her face.

“Why do you resist me Kagome?”

The gentle tone of his question and the use of her name completely took her aback. Where was this going? She was sure she would get her answer this time.

“Why do you refuse to admit you are mine, little miko?” he continued. Her stomach tightened when he called her that, but she waited for him to continue, she had no other way.

“Why don’t you accept you are my mate?”

Her eyes widened and, for the first time in her nightmare, she was able to speak. Her lips parted and, with a shaky voice, she managed to ask “Your mate?”

She couldn’t believe it. How was this possible? She didn’t know a lot about demon costumes, but she somehow had the impression that to become someone’s mate, you had to agree and take part in some ritual. It was the demon equivalent of marriage. From what she remembered, she never agreed to become Naraku’s mate and there was no ritual.

She was brought out of her thoughts by his approach. He leaned in closer so she was now forced to look into his eyes. She closed them tightly as she heard him say “You _are_ my mate, rather you like I or not. You are mine. You are mine till death do us part!” His words were followed by a kiss as violent as the ones in her previous nightmares.

She woke to find herself alone in the room again. It was dark, meaning she probably slept into the night, a first for her since she left Haruko’s cave.

The silence in the room was bringing her into as state of nervousness. She was alone; he friends must have become tired from waiting and left for their rooms. Instead of being relived they had left her alone, she realized she was afraid of her situation, of the dark. She moved to a sitting position and encircled her knees with her arms. She leaned her forehead against them and started crying softly.

All she wanted now was to get out of this. She couldn’t go home because she feared what her family and friends would say. She was sure she couldn’t escape him like this either, he would still visit her dreams even if he couldn’t get her back. She couldn’t stay here forever either, she somehow doubted Sesshomaru would be happy to let her stay here and they needed to live soon.

There was no way out of this.

‘You are mine till death do us part!’ Naraku’s words rang in her mind. She raised her head and looked around the room, searching for something in the darkness. That’s when a thought found its way in her mind. She remembered the welcoming darkness that embraced her in Haruko’s spring and the first time she went to sleep before she had the nightmare. She would welcome that darkness with her arms open.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

She slowly opened the door to the room she knew was his. She peeked inside to make sure he was there. The rhythmic sound of his breath assured her of that.

Without making a sound, she slid into the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

With silent steps, she approached his bed. Looking at him, at his tranquil features, it seemed almost impossible to her that the sleeping form before her and the youkai lord that, up to a few days ago, wanted all of them dead were one and the same.

She knelt next to his bed, sure that, in his light sleep, he already picked up her presence. She just sat there, silent, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. If he hadn’t noticed her by now, the rapid beating f her heart was sure to give her away.

The silence in the room was deafening. This wouldn’t have been a problem for her a week ago, but, after what happened to her in the past few days, it had become one of the things she feared the most.

Silence, being alone and men, these were the things that brought fear into her heart now. These were the reasons why she doubted this was a good idea to begin with. Though both her heart and mind decided this was the best thing to do, something in the back of her mind still made her doubt this.

Without opening his eyes, he asked her, “What do you want, miko?”

His words echoed in her troubled mind as she forced herself to speak. Eventually, the words found their way to her lips. “I want…I want you…I…” she tried to say.

Mad at herself for not being able to say the words, she shifted her gaze to the floor. Over the past days, this had been the only thing she was able to think about. After thinking it through over and over again and coming to the conclusion that this was this was the best thing to do, she was unable to say the words that would put an end to her fears.

When she looked up again, she found that he was no longer lying on the bed, but standing in front of her, looking at her with his piercing gaze and waiting for her to finish what she started to say. Seeing him like this, she decided on a different approach.

She stood up, taking his hand into hers as she did. She raised her eyes to meet his own, knowing they were already on her. She placed his hand over her heart. Her hand was shaky as she still had her doubts. Closing her eyes for a minute, she slowed her breath down to calm the beating of her heart.

He immediately sensed the change in her heartbeat and felt her hand tense over his. He looked at her carefully, trying to figure out what she was going to do. Whatever it was, it seemed she was going to go through with it. It was too late to turn back now.

She opened her eyes and looked into his.

“Can you feel it?” she asked.

He nodded, feeling her heartbeat under his hand.

“It’s so easy to hurt a human heart,” she continued. “And mine has taken enough from this life already: uncertainty, cruelty, violence…betrayal,” her voice became slightly harsher when she said the last word. “But, it’s strange, it usually heals after that,” she said with a sad smile.

The two looked at each other in silence. The girl eventually broke the silence, not able to bear it any longer.

“Mine has endured too much. It’s been broken too many times with no one there to heal it,” she said, tightening her grip on his hand and placing her other hand over it as well. “This time,” she continued, “ it’s just too much for it to handle. It’s been shattered like the Shinkon and there is no one to put the peaces back together.”

Tears were pooling in her eyes as she kept talking.

“This time, the pain is too much to heal,” she finished.

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Maybe she wasn’t as strong as he though she was. “You want _me_ to heal it?” he asked, a bit of surprise filtering through his words.

The tears in her eyes were threatening to spill as she guided his hand to her through. She closed her eyes tight and the tears stained her cheeks as she finally spoke “I want you to end it,” she said without hesitating.

His eyes widened, knowing what she meant. One of her tears splashed on his hand and he wanted to pull back but her hands made sure his fingers didn’t leave her throat. He waited for her to continue.

“I want you to end it, I don’t care how,” she said. “Squeeze tighter,” she said, her fingers applying more pressure to his, “and everything will be over.” She spoke as if her life meant nothing to her and, with a broken voice, she continued, “I just want you to end it now. If I die, Naraku won’t be able to use me in his plans and he will be easier to defeat. You wouldn’t have to watch over me anymore.”

Her tears were drenching her cheeks and she couldn’t fight them anymore. “I’m placing my life in your hands, do whatever you want with it,” she said, closing her eyes and waiting for the darkness to set in.

Nothing happened.

She opened her eyes to see what was going on. She found him still looking at her, with something that could be taken as surprise in his eyes and a smirk playing at his lips. Shortly after, his fingers began to tighten around her throat. ‘Does he want to look me in the eyes when he kills me?’ she wondered.

No, it wasn’t that, his grip wasn’t tight enough. Without letting her go, his thumb pressed gently on her jawbone, enough to make her follow as he turned her around. It was like a strange dance, with him leading. He took a step forward, making her take one back. Two more steps forward on his part resulted in two more steps back for her. The back of Kagome’s legs now touched the edge of his bed. She gulped and her breath began to pick up again as fear filled her body once more.

He knew what he was doing to her, but decided to continue with his little game. He pushed down; making her sit on the bed, then pushed her back, making her lie across the bed.

Her heart was beating out of control and her tears were now flowing freely. ‘This is Sesshomaru; he wouldn’t do something like this! This is Sesshomaru; he wouldn’t do something like this! This is Sesshomaru; he wouldn’t…’ she kept chanting to herself, trying not to relive the moments of horror she hadn’t gotten over.

After he pushed her back, he took his hand off her neck. He knelt next to her on the bed and waited for her to calm down, not wanting to scare her even more. Unfortunately, he realized her fear was only increasing and, as panic set in, she even began to shiver. He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down, and leaned in so she could hear him whisper in her ear “Don’t worry little miko”. Instead of calming her, these words had the exact opposite effect, he realized as she turned her gaze to him and all he could read in it was pure terror. He decided to ignore it. “This Sesshoumaru would never force himself onto a female, especially one such as you.”

She didn’t knew if this was meant to calm or insult her, but she managed to relax enough to stop shivering and listen to what he wanted to say.

He immediately felt her relax a bit, but she was still tense. The terror in her eyes subsided to fear as he continued to hold her shoulders. A mischievous glow appeared in hi eyes, giving a new meaning to his smirk as he continued “It is a tempting offer miko, but I have been told to watch over you and it would be a boring experience if you were dead.”

She gulped again, realizing she just made her situation worse than it was already. She felt him take his hands off of her shoulders as he got off the bed.

He then helped her stand and placed a hand under her chin to make sure she was looking at him.

“This Sesshoumaru will not forget what you said, your life is now in my hands and you can be sure, miko, that, when the time comes, these claws will end it” he said putting his other hand in front of her and flexing his clawed fingers.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last scene? That's the whole reason I started writing this. I promise I'll do it justice the next time around.


	8. Where We Are Now

 

He closed the door behind him, staring blankly into the dark hallway. He had expected her to do something stupid, but this took him by surprise. He could still feel her soft skin on his fingertips and the smell of fear that spread even outside his room.

He half expected her to break down crying once he had left the room, but was only greeted by the silence of the night. He listened quietly for any movement that could have come from her. Hearing nothing, he deemed it safe to leave her alone, while he went in search of the only person who could help at a time like this.

He walked down the corridors, his mind focused on his goal only. Finally arriving at his destination, he slid the shoji door open without making his presence known (a needless action since the occupants were fast asleep).

The blinds were shut, making it impossible for the slightest ray of moonlight to make its way into the room. In the silence of the night, only the sound of breathing echoed in the still room, the sound of breathing accompanied by light snoring.

He scanned the room in search of what he came for. The kitsune kit he knew as Shippou was curled up on top of a suspicious looking lump that appeared in the covers. He appeared to be the source of the snoring. The youkai lord picked up the kit in one hand, while the other removed the covers from the lump. He looked at the creature he had just freed from the mess of fabric and waited for it to fight off slumber.

“Your presence is needed,” he stated coldly once he was sure sleep was no longer a threat.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome sat staring into the dark, not moving a muscle since Sesshomaru left her alone. Her eyes were dry, having cried all she could during her encounter with the demon lord. She sat in the very spot he had left her, unable to move.

The silence was again beginning to get to her as she wondered for how long ha she been waiting for something to happen. It could have been a few minutes, or it could have been a few hours since she was left alone.

Finally, the silence of the night was broken by the sound of the shoji door sliding open. Before she could react and turn to see who was coming, the sound of rain drops hitting the ground erupted outside. Her eyes finally met the face of her midnight visitor and filled with the tears she had wanted to unleash.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sango hadn’t slept since Kagome was brought back to the castle, especially since Shippou told her what he overheard. The lack of sleep had begun to get to her and the guys eventually convinced her to get some sleep. The moment Sesshomaru woke her up, she knew it had to do with Kagome and that it wasn’t good.

After living Shippou with Rin, Sesshomaru showed her to his bedroom, opening the door for her and showing her in. with this, he left her there, leaving for his study more than likely.

The room wasn’t as dark as she had expected, moonlight making its way through the clouds in through the open windows. A fragile figure sat on the bed, staring into nothingness. Once their eyes meat, she recognized Kagome, her eyes filled with tears waiting to be shed, her face pale from the ones she already had.

The girl in front of her didn’t make a move, just looked at her with teary eyes, while the rain started to pick up outside.

Before the mind could process what happened, Sango was by her friend’s side, hugging her and stroking her hair in a comforting manner. They sat like this for a few minutes, not saying anything, just waiting for the tears to stop.

Finally, Sango decided to speak up. “Kagome, what happened?” she asked her friend, her voice gentle and worried.

Kagome didn’t answer, she couldn’t. They sat quietly for a little longer until she found the courage to speak.

“I … I wanted…” her voice was shaky and she couldn’t find the strength to say the words. She remembered what she wanted to do and decided that if she had the strength to ask what she had of Sesshomaru, she should have the strength to confess to her best friend, no matter how painful it was for her.

“I came to ask Sesshomaru to end my suffering,” she told Sango.

The taijia’s eyes widened as she exclaimed with a gasp.

“You what?” Shock was evident in her voice as she grabbed Kagome’s face with her hands and forced the girl to look at her.

“I asked him to take my life away,” Kagome continued. “After what Naraku did to me…” her voice broke. “I thought it was the best thing to do,” she finished. She hung her head, unable to face her friend.

Sango just hugged her again. “I know what happened, Kagome,” she whispered. “The pain you feel right now equals, if not rivals, the pain we all have suffered because of Naraku. Each one of us had a moment when they would want to end it all,” she said comfortingly.

Kagome welcomed Sango’s words and wanted to accept the comfort they brought, until realization hit her. “How did you know what happened?” she asked. “Sesshoumaru promised not to say a word to you.”

Sango closed her eyes for a moment and, with a heavy sigh, answered, “Shippou overheard him when he was talking to that other youkai, Youko…”

Not leaving her the chance to finish her sentence, Kagome pulled back and almost screamed “Shippou knows?!” She had almost forgotten about the little kit. He must have been devastated when he found out what happened to her. If Sesshomaru would have actually killed her, Shippou would have surely died of a broken heart. No, she couldn’t make that mistake again; she had to live, if not for her, at least for her friends, especially for Shippou. “I’m sorry!” she said.

Sango looked at her questioningly.

“I’m sorry for not thinking of you when I made my decision and I’m sorry for taking such a stupid decision in the first place. I was a coward,” Kagome concluded. During her speech, her voice had the same monotone it had when she started, a slight hint of coldness filtering through.

Sango squeezed her friend’s hand, not knowing what else she could do. “Kagome, I think we should go…” she suggested.

Kagome looked at her strangely for a moment, but decided it was the best idea. They couldn’t just spend the night in the taiyoukai’s bedroom, especially since it reminded her of her earlier decision. She gulped as she remembered that her life was now in Sesshomaru’s hands and, if she wasn’t useful anymore, he could end it at a moment’s notice. Now that she knew she had her friends to live for, if not for herself, the thought of dying became slightly disturbing.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It had been a wonderful night for sleeping outside; that is until rain decided to take over. Heavy clouds covered the sky, blocking most of the moon’s rays. Raindrops started hitting the ground at a fast pace, soon turning into a regular thunderstorm.

Youko sighed in annoyance. Not only did he not have anyone to talk to, since Hiei was on another of his usual expeditions to who knows where, but now it seemed that not even the weather was on his side. Not wanting to spend his night out on such weather, he decided to head for the castle, making use of Sesshomaru’s hospitality.

Getting in wasn’t a problem for him. And, even if someone actually saw him, the servants were instructed to mind their own business. He made his way down the corridors until he heard voices. Giving in to his curiosity, he decided to hide and see who it was.

He recognized them as being female, his suspicion confirmed once they came into his line of sight. One of them was Kagome, the human girl Sesshoumaru had rescued from Naraku. She was quite and only answered the other girls questions. The other one was the tayjia that didn’t seem to have a very good opinion about him. They didn’t notice him and continued their way until they reached one of the rooms and Kagome stopped.

“What is it, Kagome?” he heard the taijia ask.

The other girl looked at her and asked back, “You said Shippou was with Rin, right?”

All she got for an answer was a nod.

“This is the room, right? I just want to se him for a little while. I haven’t seen him since I got back and I really miss him,” she pleaded.

After a short silence, the doors slid open and he heard the answer. “Alright, but don’t stay long, they need to sleep.”

With that, the two girls entered the room.

‘Sesshoumaru did say to keep an eye on her…’ Youko told himself. He was curious about the girl and he felt this was the way to find out more about her. Taking his decision, he waited outside the room for something to happen.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The moment they entered the room, they recognized Shippou’s snoring. The little fox was sleeping heavily next to a dark haired girl. They looked like two little angels with their innocent faces. Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance. Thunder soon followed.

To Kagome’s surprise, the children didn’t even seem to have heard the loud noise. She looked at their sleeping forms for a little longer. Before long, Shippou started to whimper. “Kagome, come back…Please be alright Kagome…Please be alright…”

Kagome sat down next to him and combed her fingers through the little kit’s hair in a comforting way. “I’m here, Shippou, and I’m OK. I promise you’ll never have to worry for me again,” she promised, not knowing if she could actually keep her promise.

Shippou murmured something in response and rolled over. His tail was now in the little girl’s reach and she grabbed it and used it as a pillow.

Kagome smiled at the sight. They showed her that there was still hope. She was brought back from her thoughts by Sango’s light tap on her shoulder. “Come. You don’t want to wake them, do you?” she asked her. Kagome nodded her approval and left the room with her, quietly closing the door behind them.

The girls waked down the corridors leading to their rooms in silence until Kagome stopped.

“What’s the matter?” Sango asked concerned, seeing as her friend shivered slightly.

Kagome, who had her arms encircled around herself, raised one of her hands and waved the thought away. “It’s nothing. I just have the feeling we’re being watched,” she said.

Sango nodded. “Yah, you get that a lot around here. It’s probably one of the servants. Don’t worry, nobody can get into this place,” she told her. Kagome accepted the explanation and they continued their way.

A shadow detached from the wall after they rounded a corner. ‘If you only knew…’ Youko thought to himself. He quietly left his spot and followed. This was going to be interesting.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome looked nervous as they got ready to go to bed.

“What’s the matter?” Sango asked again.

Kagome paced nervously around her. “I’m afraid to go to sleep. Every time I close my eyes…he’s there…waiting for me…” she tried to explain “I don’t want to face him again…”

Before she could continue, Sango wrapped a comforting arm around her “Don’t worry, I’ll be here”

Kagome shook her head. “It wouldn’t help. It wouldn’t help at all. Whenever I close my eyes, I’m back with Naraku. It’s like I never left. He keeps torturing me…” her voice broke as she couldn’t find the strength to continue. “I wish I could go back to two years ago,” Kagome finished after a short pause. She sat down on the floor, ignoring any piece of furniture in the room. ‘When things were less painful.’

Sango decided to join her and sat down next to her. Trying to raise her spirit, she joked “You mean with Miroku hitting on us every five minutes?” The moment the words were out, she already regretted saying them. It wasn’t exactly the best thing to say to her friend right now, but Kagome surprised her by giving a small laugh.

“I guess it would be part of the deal, ne?” Kagome said timidly.

Seeing her friend’s mood lighten, Sango joined in “I guess you’re right. Things wouldn’t be back to normal if Miroku would keep his hands to himself…”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshomaru had retreated to his study, leaving the tayjia to take care of Kagome. It was strange for him to realize he knew the girl’s name, even if he wouldn’t use it in public.

It was hard to understand how this girl’s mind worked. What could have possessed her do just place her life in his hands? It was understandable for her to want to end her life, but why did she ask _him_ to do it? This was what bugged him. If he hadn’t have made the promise to Haruko that he would protect the girl, he didn’t know what he would have done. He certainly wouldn’t have killed her. He wasn’t sure why, but he knew he wouldn’t have killed the girl, despite her plead to do so. He might have tortured her a little more than he already had, but he would have left her alive.

He moved his attention from the girl to the letter he was trying to read. It was from Lord Hikaru. It informed him of the fact that most of the youkai lords have agreed that Naraku was not an eminent danger. It seemed that Lord Kitsu had convinced them that Naraku was just a hanyou with no real power and that his allies were fewer than was first thought. The only ones that were still by his side were Lord Hikaru and Lord Jiro, with Lord Ryuku’s silent approval of any action against the enemy. Lady Izumi was changing sides according to her own interests (there was also a note about her husband’s worsening condition).

He sighed heavily. He never expected more from the other lords, all they were concerned about was their immediate wellbeing. It was good to know he could still count on Lord Hikaru and Lord Jiro and that Lord Ryuku was still on their side. In case something happened, their help should be enough to hold back Naraku’s attack.

His thoughts trailed back to the human girl and her companions. She appeared to be a key figure in Naraku’s plans, rather she knew it or not. This meant she had to stay at the castle until the things got settled and her friends would have to stay as well. What annoyed him the most about this arrangement was the fact that this meant his brother had to stay as well. He was also worried about the fact that the ningen’s presence wasn’t bothering him as much as it used to. They showed him respect and a bit of fear, something he considered he deserved, but they also acted with dignity around him, not lowering themselves just because they wanted to impress. This was something no human ever did in his presence (most usually cowering away in fear) and he wasn’t really sure how to interpret this. Maybe it had to do with the fact that they had to deal with humans and demons of all kinds, but, mostly, it must have been the influence of that girl.

He lowered his eyes to the letter again, realizing he had read the same phrase about seven times. _We require another meeting as soon as possible to discuss a strategy to defeat Naraku_ it said. He was about to get a sheet of paper to write his answer when a light laugh reached his ears. He recognized it as being Kagome and that other ningen female’s. Wondering why and how they changed their mood in such a short period of time, he decided to find out.

He left his study and traced the voices to the taijia’s room. To his surprise, Youko was already outside the door, listening carefully.

“What are you doing here?” Sesshomaru inquired.

The kitsune didn’t answer right away. Instead, he sat down and made himself comfortable. He looked up at Sesshomaru with a questioning look. “Would you like to join me?” he asked and motioned for the other youkai to sit down.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. “I do not think eavesdropping is one of my hobbies,” he answered. “What are you doing here?” he insisted.

“You’re as curious about this girl as I am. This is the best way to find the information we want and she refuses to give,” Youko stated. Why did he expect something else from the fox when he knew him better?

Youko pointed to a spot on the other side of the door where he could sit comfortably and listen to the girl’s conversation. “Think of the good old days,” he said as he pointed.

Sesshoumaru mentally sighed. He didn’t really want to remember ‘the good old days’. He refused to sit, yet didn’t live either. Youko was right, he was curious about the girl and he had the feeling this was the only way he could get some answers right now.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome and Sango had spent most of the night talking about their adventures two years ago, when it started. All the times Inuyasha had made a fool of himself, the times Miroku had gotten into trouble because of women or the fights between Inuyasha and Kouga for Kagome’s heart. They didn’t only talk about the good times; they had gone through some really bad times as well but, somehow, managed to come through. It was always one for all and all for one. “Like the three musketeers,” joked Kagome.

Sango gave her a wired look, but held back her comments, knowing it must have been an expression from Kagome’s time.

Kagome hugged her knees and hid her face in them. “Sango, do you realize it’s been more than a month since I’ve seen my mother?” the girl asked.

Sango looked at her in silence then answered, “She must be worried about you… Kagome…why didn’t you go home before this happened?” she asked hesitantly. “I mean, you were already here for almost three weeks.”

Kagome raised her eyes to look at her friend. “We had a fight,” she stated. “She wanted me to stop looking for the Shikon shards and pay more attention on my school work,” she explained. She smiled as she continued, “She was worried about what I would do after I finished school.”

A tear dropped down her cheek, but her smile stayed on. “All she worried about was me failing school; she never understood the real danger I was in every time I jumped through the well. I made sure she never knew, if she did, she never would have let me do it.” She looked at her friend and hung her head in defeat. “I’m the only one to blame.”

Silence took over the next few moments, neither of the girls knowing what to say.

Kagome was the first to speak, pushing back her tears and trying to sound cheerful. “I just have to get over this, I have to go on with my life,” she told herself.

Sango was a bit surprised of her friend’s change in attitude. In less then a day she had gone from depressive to suicidal to hyper-optimistic back to depressive and now she was turning optimist again. At least it looked like she was returning to her old self as much as she could, given the circumstances. She had no idea what thoughts were running through Kagome’s mind at the moment.

Kagome suddenly got up, heading for the door.

“What’s the matter?” Sango asked her.

She got no answers as Kagome continued on her way. She opened one of the doors with a sudden movement, as if she expected someone to be on the other side, eavesdropping. As Sango expected, yet to Kagome’s surprise, the halls were empty and dark, just as they left them.

“I was sure there was someone there, I almost felt them,” she said.

Sango looked at her curiously. “What do you mean? I didn’t hear or since anything,” she stated. “You’re tired, maybe we should go to bed,” she eventually suggested.

The thought of going to sleep made Kagome shudder, she wasn’t sure if she could handle her dreams this soon. Looking at her friend, she decided it was the safest way to confront them. If anything were to happen, if Naraku came into her dreams again, Sango would (hopefully) be able to wake her. Putting her head in her hands, Kagome realized how tired she actually was, the sleep she got in the past days not actually counting as rest.

Sango was already sitting on the bed and motioned for Kagome to join her. There ware two beds in the room, intended initially one for Sango and the other for Shippou. Kagome took Shippou’s bed and curled up in the covers, waiting for darkness to set in and hoping there was nothing waiting for her once it did.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The kanji were orderly taking there place on the paper in front of him as Sesshomaru was writing to the other youkai lords, requesting they come to his castle for another meeting. He asked them to arrive in three days time, a reasonable amount of time considering youkai didn’t face the same challenges travel implied for humans.

He called for Jaken. This message was too important to let any servant deliver it.

Without hesitation, the toad was at his master’s call within milliseconds. “Sesshoumaru-sama, what can this lowly Jaken do for you?” he said as he bowed at his master’s feet.

Sesshoumaru handed him the letter. “You are to take this to the Southern Lands, to Lord Hikaru. Lord Jiro and Lord Ryuku should be with him. You are to assist them in any preparations for their coming and to escort them here. I have important news for them,” he explained in a clear voice.

Jaken took the letter out of his master’s hand and started to leave. “I’ll send a servant at once” he said but then turned around as he heard an annoyed growl escape his master’s throat.

“I said _you_ are to take it to them, Jaken. Do not waste this Sesshomaru’s patience.”

Sensing the danger in the sentence, Jaken hurried to live the room.

“As I said, I’ll get right to it, Sesshoumaru-sama,” the toad corrected himself.

Again lowered to the status of a lowly servant, Jaken left mumbling for his room to get what was needed for the trip.

 

 

 


	9. Running Home

 

The morning sun caressed her skin; the warmth of the new day telling her she had made it through the night without having to confront her nightmares. Despite the welcoming promise of a new start, she refused to open her eyes, what if it was just a dream and the nightmare was going to begin?

No, she refused to believe that. She was going to free herself from Naraku’s grasp, no matter what it took.

Only death could break their bond, she was well aware of that now, but it was his death, not hers that she wished upon now. His death was going to be her salvation and if she had to speed it, she was going to.

Her eyelids twitched a little as she felt something soft touching her shoulder. She didn’t want to break the sweet spell that sleep had placed on her but reality had other ideas in mind. She reluctantly opened her eyes to the new day to find a ball of red fluff seated on the pillow next to her, a little hand taping on her shoulder. She recognized the red fluff ball as being Shippou and smiled at him.

“Kagome, I missed you so much!” he squeaked as he launched himself in her arms.

She gently stroke his hair. “I missed you too, little one.”

She sat upright on the bed and Shippou used the opportunity to get more comfortable in her arms. While the kit moved around, trying not to disturb her too much, Kagome searched the room for Sango. The tayjia was nowhere to be seen.

Musing over the reason for this, Shippou spoke up, “She’s gone with Miroku to find Inuyasha, he took off without telling anyone last night.”

Shippou’s comment brought her out of her mussing. The last time Inuyasha pulled this kind of disappearing act was when he was seeing Kikyou, but this couldn’t be the case now, could it?

She shook her head to clear these thoughts away and to concentrate on Shippou who was going a mile a minute, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. That is, until he mentioned something about a dream.

“What did you say?” she asked confused.

Shippou looked at her with his big green eyes. “I said I had a dream about you last night. You were hurt. It was Naraku that hurt you. You were so far away, I couldn’t get there to save you,” he said with a sad look in his eyes.

She hugged him tighter to her, knowing that the kit felt guilty for letting Kagome get captured.

“He took you away and all I wanted was for you to be back. The next thing I know, you were holding me,” he said, burying his face in her shoulder “You promised I’ll never have to worry bout you again,” he finished and Kagome remembered the night before.

“And I intend to keep that promise,” she told him comfortingly.

She really intended to keep her promise.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Inuyasha was running around as if he didn’t really have a purpose. He was looking for something that just wasn’t there. He was starting to think that the first time he saw it; it must have been a hallucination. He was looking for Kikyou who disappeared after she had brought doubt into his heart. She disappeared without a trace and he thought that if he found her, he would find Naraku as well.

It had been the second night of searching without a result. The others were beginning to be a bit suspicious, but he didn’t care anymore.

Since Kagome refused to see him, the only useful thing he could do was find Naraku, so he needed to find Kikyou first.

He also used these outings to get away from his brother; he couldn’t stand being in the same living space as he was. Sesshomaru didn’t seem to notice his absence, even if he did order them to stay in the castle. He didn’t notice or didn’t care. Maybe the taiyoukai felt the same as his hanyou brother when it came to sharing living space. As long as they stayed out of each other’s hair, any reason was good enough. To Inuyasha, Kagome came first and he knew she wouldn’t like it if they fought to the death at a time like this.

Wandering around in circles, he realized Kikyou’s scent had faded away for good.

‘There goes my chance at finding Naraku’ he said to himself.

Sniffing around some more in hopes of finding anything, he decided to turn back and start again tomorrow, hoping he would find any clue as to where to look next.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshomaru paced his study, waiting for something. He didn’t have long to wait since the doors slid open and Youko’s tall form entered. The youkai lord had his back turned to the guest.

“It seems you have managed to pull me into your old games again,” he stated.

Youko smiled sincerely and answered, “If I recall correctly, you used to like these old games.” He walked to the chair opposite Sesshomaru’s desk and sat down without waiting to be asked to.

Sesshomaru turned around and raised an eyebrow at seeing this. “It was a long time ago,” he said simply.

Silence took over as Sesshomaru moved to his seat. He took the letter he had received from the other lords and handed it to Youko.

“I have invited them over to come to a decision regarding Naraku,” he stated.

The kitsune looked over the letter briefly and gave it back. “And have _you_ reached a decision?” he questioned.

Sesshomaru’s brow raised again, but he didn’t avoid the question. “About Naraku, yes, but you will have to wait until they are all here to find out what. Now, if you were talking about something else, I do not know if I have an answer.”

“What about the girl?” Youko asked. “Her story is interesting, you must have known at least part of the story we heard last night,” he continued.

Sesshomaru didn’t say anything for a moment than finally spoke. “I knew of her adventures with my brother, if that is what you mean. The rest of the story is completely new for me as well,” he said. ‘Though not completely surprising,’ he continued inwardly.

“By the way,” the fox asked matter-of-factly, “what exactly happened last night?”

Sesshomaru wasn’t really sure of the answer himself, just of the strange feeling he had when it happened. The terrified look in the girl’s eyes, but also her pleading, she came to him looking for something, something she wanted dearly.

“She wanted…an answer,” he said, realizing that was exactly what she had been looking for.

Youko got up and left without saying anything to the taiyoukai. It would have been useless anyway since he wasn’t paying anymore attention to him.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sango opened the door to the room she now shared with Kagome. She wasn’t at all surprised to find Shippou here, trying to get Kagome to cheer up. She looked at the two, knowing that this was what Kagome needed at the moment. She cleared her throat to make her presence known.

The two turned their heads. “Ohayou, Sango!” they both cheered.

Any other day, this would have been something normal, but, taking in the last few days, the sight shocked the tayjia. However, she figured Kagome was acting this way for Shippou’s sake so she refrained from running over to her friend, placing a hand over her forehead and asking her what she did with Kagome.

Whenever she wasn’t looking at Shippou, Kagome’s eyes had a sad look in them, something that wasn’t there until now and Sango wondered if it was going to go away.

Kagome put the kit down and stood up.

“Where’s Inuyasha?” she asked her friend.

The older girl smiled in response. “I think he’s with Miroku, he was out all night doing who knows what. We found him this morning wondering in the forest nearby. He said he couldn’t stay here if you don’t want to see him. When I told him you left your room, he just took Miroku by the hand and dragged him off somewhere,” she finished with a little smile. She didn’t know what worried her more: Kagome’s sudden cheerfulness, or Inuyasha’s suspicious disappearance.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Miroku was looking around the corner of one of the many hallways of Sesshomaru’s castle. “Are you sure about this?” he asked without turning to his friend.

“What do you think hoshi?” Inuyasha’s voice was heard from somewhere behind him.

The said hoshi rolled his eyes and looked down the hallway again “Clear!” he stated and moved aside to let his friend pass.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou was tugging at the sleeve of Kagome’s kimono. “You should really meat Rin, she’s really nice…” he kept telling her about the girl she had noticed around Sesshomaru before. She was about to say something when the shoji doors opened to let Miroku in.

The girls looked at him in confusion until he realized he was alone. He turned around, looking for something “Inuyasha, I thought you said you were sure about this,” he said to the empty hallway.

“I was,” came Inuyasha’s voice.

Miroku sighed deeply and left the room. He returned moments later, dragging a reluctant Inuyasha. “There she I,s” he said pointing to Kagome. “Now I really want to see this!”

Sango moved away from the shocked Kagome and closer to the monk. “See what?” she asked him.

The monk only smiled knowingly.

Inuyasha inched closer to Kagome, still not bringing his eyes to meet hers. She saw he was fidgeting and hiding something behind his back. Intrigued, she spoke up “What is it you want to tell me?” she asked him.

The hanyou’s mind was full of questions he wanted to ask her, worries he wanted to let out and suspicions that Kikyou had given him. Although his initial plan was clear, he didn’t know where to start now. He finally decided to start with the surprise he planned for her, no matter how things were going to go from there.

He gave her the flowers he was hiding behind his back. Those were the reason he needed Miroku’s help earlier, one, to help him find the flowers and two, to make sure no one saw him do it, what would anyone have thought if they saw a demon picking flowers?

Kagome was surprised to say the least. She never expected such a gesture from Inuyasha. She took the bunch, they were just wiled flowers but those were her favorite, and held them to her heart. This small gift brought back a sparkle that almost disappeared from her heart. Her eyes glittered

“Thank you, Inuyasha,” she said with a shaky voice. Inuyasha’s innocent gesture gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t shun her if he found the truth.

The surprises kept coming as Inuyasha pulled Kagome into a tight embrace.

She stiffened a bit, uncomfortable with his touch, images of Naraku still playing in her mind. She eventually relaxed and gave in, thinking this meant she was finally safe.

Inuyasha took in her scent, the only reason for the embrace being to fight back the doubts. He wanted to make sure Kagome was still his, untouched. At first, he thought this was the case. He thought Kikyou only had fed him lies. That is, until he realized there was something, a heavy scent, the scent of death, Naraku’s scent. He refused to think of it ‘She’s been with him and he tortured her, of course his scent rubbed of on her’ he told himself. Yes, that was it. However, he didn’t want to think about it anymore so he pulled away, leaving a confused Kagome behind.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou had managed to convince a reluctant Kagome to come to the gardens with him.

Seeing him like this, it was hard for Kagome to believe he actually knew what happened. She didn’t want to think of it any more, since the kit was now urging her to come and meet the little girl called Rin.

Kagome sat away from their games, just observing them. They were so cute, running around like that. She remembered how peaceful they looked the night before, like two little angels. Now, they were anything but, although they were still as innocent.

She turned her eyes away from the sight. She felt a sting in her eyes and she was fighting against it. She pulled her knees up and crossed her arms around them. Her kimono sleeves draped around her feet, the green color of the fabric matching the surrounding landscape, and she leaned her forehead on her arms.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A certain inu youkai watched over his ward as she played in the gardens with the kitsune kit. He had to admit that Shippou’s company was much more welcomed for the little girl than Jaken’s.

His attention then turned to the older girl that sat to the side, face hidden behind her folded knees. She had a strange mix of sadness and happiness in her eyes, something he couldn’t really understand. The forest green kimono she was now wearing suited her better than the strange clothes she used to wear.

He moved his thoughts away from the girl, to the conversation he ‘overheard’ last night. He still couldn’t believe he gave in so easily to Youko’s ‘arguments’, it was like he was a pup again.

So the girl was from the future. This made him even more curious about her and it explained her behavior. It also brought more questions. His head was swirling with questions and he couldn’t settle on one alone. Who was this strange girl called Higurashi Kagome? Yes, he even remembered her name. How was it that the Bone-Eater’s Well acted as a portal? Why was it that only the girl and his half-brother could pass?

The mystery grew deeper now that he knew more abut her than before. He was sure of only one thing now: the young miko and the tayjia earned his respect even before he knew more about their lives. He was starting to feel sorry about the way his plan was going to affect her, although he wasn’t going to change it. He was determined to go through with it, not even considering Haruko’s prediction. Despite the respect he had for the girl, he still found it unacceptable, not only because she was ningen…

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A pair of gray pupilless eyes was intensely studying Kagome. An old hand traced the couture of the girl’s form in the air.

“My premonition was right,” the aged figure said to the air around her. “She is the one”.

The eyes closed for a moment while their owner concentrated on the girl’s aura. She could feel the energy bubbling inside the said girl, energy that would soon ask to be released. With a contempt smile, the old figure disappeared into the dark forest.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Night was falling and Kagome and the others were getting ready for dinner. Inuyasha, surprisingly, had run off again. Shippou was bugging Miroku. Sango and Kagome were looking over the wardrobe they had at their disposal. Things looked like they were back to normal, except for the fact that they were now staying in Sesshomaru’s castle that is.

The doors opened to let in one of the servants. It was a young woman, the only human servant they had seen in the whole castle. “The Lord would like you to join him for dinner,” she said in a shy voice.

They were all surprised at this.

Sango was the firs to speak. “We are most grateful. We will be there in a few minutes”.

The young woman bowed politely and was about to leave.

Miroku opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw the look on Sango’s face. A look that said ‘ _try anything hoshi and you’ll be in need of Kagome’s medicine_ ’.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Dinner was awfully quiet. Sesshomaru hadn’t eaten a thing while his human guests stayed silent during the whole thing, even the kitsune kit. They showed certain uneasiness in his presence, something he actually expected.

When they were eventually done, the monk was the first to break the silence. “What is it you wanted to tell us, Sesshomaru-sama?” he asked.

Sesshomaru inwardly smiled as he noted that the monk appeared to be the group’s diplomat. He also took his time before giving them their answer. “In two days time,” he started in his usual indifferent voice, “some of the demon lords will be here for a meeting. We are to discus ways to defeat Naraku. Kagome will remain at the castle until thins will settle down. As of now, the rest of you are free to live if you wish.”

The news took Kagome by surprise. All alone here, without her friends, although she trusted Sesshomaru, she wasn’t ready to stay away from the ones she cared for. Somehow, she suspected she also had something to do with this meeting he talked about.

Before she could say anything, Sango cut in. “I am sorry Sesshomaru-sama, but we can not and will not live our friend’s side. If she is to stay here, than we ask of you to allow us to stay as well,” she said and, before the demon lord had a chance to answer, she continued, “As for the meeting, I believe we are as much, if not more, involved in this matter as any of the lords. We have been directly affected by his actions and it is our right to confront him,” she finished.

Sesshomaru simply nodded as he took in the tayjia’s words and the monk’s serious look. He had never expected less of them. “Agreed” he simply said and immediately saw the sparkle in Kagome’s eyes. He stood and turned to leave.

“One more thing” he added “I will be gone tomorrow so, if something happens, you can ask for Youko’s help”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

 _‘Kagome now belongs to him… I never said it was against her will… From what I know, she was quite welcoming’_ Kikyou’s words were spinning in his head. He knew he couldn’t believe her, he shouldn’t. Still, there was something that told him she was telling him at least part of the truth. _‘You have lost to Naraku once more’_ was all his mind could pick up out of all the jumbled thoughts.

Even if Kagome hadn’t given herself to Naraku, the bastard still could have taken advantage of her. This didn’t mean she wasn’t still _his_ Kagome.

Her behavior confused him. At first she shied away, not letting any of them see her, now, she looked like nothing happened. There was also the fact that she didn’t have any wounds on her body when Sesshomaru brought her back. His brother did say he took her to a healer, but the idea just didn’t seem to find a place to settle in the hanyou’s mind.

The whiles of his mind were spinning at a dizzying speed, always coming back to the same idea. He had to see if she was marked. That day, when he hugged her, he wanted to see if Naraku’s scent was still present on her. He couldn’t find it on her and he almost felt relived but, still, the retched smell was there. He had to make sure.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It had been another nightmare-filled night for Kagome. Naraku’s presence had again made its way into her dreams and her torture was completed with images of her friends suffering. She had to watch Shippou’s pain as he saw her tormented body. She saw Sango weep over her brother’s lifeless body, having seen the painful way he had died when Naraku had removed the jewel shard from his body.

She struggled in her sleep against a foe who knew no mercy. His sadistic smile played upon his lips as he showed her this. He truly enjoyed seeing her this way. He came closer, his lips almost touching hers.

“My little miko, how I wish this night wouldn’t end. I had so much planned to show you,” he told her, his lips now touching her own. “To teach you,” he whispered.

Her eyes shot open and she found herself in her bed, Sango next to her, trying to wake her up. She looked at the concerned look on the older girl’s face. Good thing she was there, what if she hadn’t woken at all…

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The sun was peeking in through the open windows, touching the face of a sleeping girl. After she had woken from her nightmare she had spent a few hours talking with her friend about nothing. Eventually, she allowed herself to fall into a dreamless slumber.

Sango was already up, dressed in an elegant kimono. It was blue with a floral pattern and completely different from the one she used to wear. She had to remember to thank their host for this. It seemed Sesshoumaru didn’t like having them wear the same clothes all the time, so he put a small wardrobe at their disposal. They might have been human, but they were here as his guests and he couldn’t have them looking like peasants.

There was a knock on the door and she opened it to find Inuyasha standing there with a confused expression on his face.

“I… I need to talk to Kagome” he said.

Sango moved out of his way to let him in. “I’m sorry, but she’s still asleep. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you didn’t want to run into Sesshoumaru.”

“He just left,” he said simply. “Please, Sango, I have to tell her something important,” he said pleadingly.

The taijia was completely taken aback. She couldn’t remember Inuyasha ever talking like this. She went over to wake Kagome but stopped before she did anything. Her friend had a very tiring night; she had to know why Inuyasha wanted to talk to her so badly.

“I don’t think it’s such a great idea to wake her right now,” she said.

Inuyasha ignored her and almost growled in frustration. He wanted to know what happened at Naraku’s.

“I just want to know what happened,” he said in a suspiciously calm voice, considering his recent outburst. He moved around Sango and headed to Kagome’s bed, intent on waking her himself.

“I’ll tell you what you want to know,” Sango said, putting a hand on his chest to stop him.

He pushed her aside.

“I want to know if … if she was … taken by Naraku,” he said, not finding a better way to put it.

Sango was grateful she hadn’t woken Kagome.

“If you need to know what happened, she will tell you when the time comes,” she told him. “If she didn’t say anything, there is nothing to say.”

“Keh! Maybe Kikyou was right then. She did it willingly,” he said with distaste.

Sango looked at him in shock. How could he say such a thing?

“What are you talking about, Inuyasha?” she asked.

Inuyasha had a knowing look on his face.

“I ran into Kikyou. She told me what happened. She told me how Kagome let Naraku touch her. I didn’t believe it at first, I thought it was one of her tricks,” he said, his voice rising. “I could smell him on her. No, not _on_ her, his stench was under her scent. She’s no less of a bitch than Kikyou,” he spat.

In their argument, they didn’t notice that the one they were talking about was awake.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha in disbelief. She couldn’t believe he was saying such things about her.

She had woken to the sound of Inuyasha and Sango’s arguing. She was now in a sitting position at the edge of her bed, her slipping kimono in disorder, her shoulder bare; exposing the mark Naraku had left on her. Anger rose in her eyes as Inuyasha’s accusations hit her head-on.

“SIT!” was all she could yell at him. She couldn’t believe her ears.

Sango looked in shock as Inuyasha pulled himself together out of the dent he had left on the wooden floor.

“You bitch!” he said. “I shouldn’t have worried so much about your safety, you did fine on your own. I should’ve known what happened the moment that bastard, Sesshoumaru, brought you back without a scratch on you,” he said, getting up.

Kagome was now in front of him, face to face.

“Get out!” she ordered.

He stared down at her

“Come to think of it…I wonder why Sesshomaru bothers with you any way. Maybe…” he didn’t get to end his statement before Kagome’s hand impacted his face.

“OUT!” she ordered.

This time he complied. He had nothing else to tell her.

Kagome dropped down to the ground, exhausted.

“Does it really look like this?” she asked no one in particular.

Sango put a comforting hand on her back, not knowing what else to do.

To her surprise, Kagome got up and started to dress. She put on a blue kimono with a cloud pattern on it. She grabbed her backpack; not bothering to check what was inside and headed out the door.

“I’m borrowing Kirara” she said simply and walked out with the neko on her trails.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome took to the sky, with no destination in mind. She just had to get away from that place. They were heading nowhere in particular, not realizing that a silver figure was following on the ground.

The girl looked at the surrounding landscape. It was beautiful, so different from the one in her own time. She looked at the sun and realized it was about noon. She wad been flying around aimlessly for some time now.

The image of her family made its way into her head and she knew that was where she wanted to be. She wanted to go home, where there weren’t any youkai, where Naraku was long dead, she wanted to run away. She whispered the destination into Kirara’s ear, telling her to go back to Sango once she got her there.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome hung on to Kirara as the two of them made their way through the evening sky. The setting sun was setting the scenery ablaze, leaving a trail of flames in their way. The fire neko begun to descend once they reached an all too familiar clearing.

The girl got off and took the bag she had placed on the back of her youkai friend. With her free hand, she wiped away a tear that was threatening to spill. She had decided she wouldn’t cry anymore and she had every intention not to break that promise, not even when she was alone.

Kirara took off, reluctantly leaving her friend alone.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the well. She couldn’t believe the coast was clear. Hurriedly, she walked towards it, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming for her.

She made a dash for it, jumping over the well’s lip. The warm darkness that showed her the way to her time engulfed her, but she soon found herself being pulled back.

Warm fingers were firmly wrapped around her wrist and she felt herself being taken away from the darkness she wished for.

She struggled, trying to brake free from the one that was keeping her here. She fought against the sunlight that told her she didn’t make it.

When her feet touched the ground, she raised her eyes to get a look at the one who foiled her plan. Looking up, she found herself gazing into a pair of golden eyes. She looked away again, trying to hide her disappointment.

“I thought you were not allowed to leave the castle,” Youko stated as if he had caught her in the gardens, not miles away from the said castle.

She still refused to look at him. When she was caught, she had at least hoped it was Inuyasha wanting to apologize for what he said to her, or Sesshoumaru, stopping her from doing something stupid like he seemed to do a lot lately. The fox was the last one she expected, although the day she had been brought to the castle she was told that he would help protect her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her again, surprisingly patient.

She looked at him, not knowing what to answer. She couldn’t just tell him she was going to the future where she didn’t have to fight against a demented hanyou, she didn’t have to look for jewel shards or put up with a suspicious inu hanyou who thought she betrayed his trust and mated with his, their, greatest enemy, now could she. She gulped as she looked for a plausible reason for her jumping down a well, something that didn’t imply the word ‘suicide’.

“I … I was… just…” she stammered.

He took her hand and motioned for her to follow him.

She reluctantly did as she was told, her eyes never living him.

“We need to get back to the castle,” he told her. “Sesshoumaru has summoned the youkai lords and he wants you to be there when they come,” he said without looking at her. He stopped walking when he felt her pull back. He turned to see what was happening.

“I’m not going back,” she said. “I’m not coming back.”

He didn’t say a word; they just stood there, facing each other for what seemed to be ages.

The setting sun had almost disappeared from the sky, leaving in its place a bleeding sky. Shadows were beginning to take their rightful place in the now darkening world.

Neither of them moved or talked, waiting for the other to start.

He looked at the stubborn girl. He knew where she was going and knew he couldn’t just let her run home. The chance was she would never return. Sure, she would be safe, but, from the way things looked, she was the solution to make things come back to normal here as well.

He extended a hand to her.

“Come on…” he tempted her.

She just shook her head.

“Not to the castle. You need somewhere to stay for the night,” he explained.

She reluctantly took his hand and allowed him to guide her through the darkening world.

They eventually came to a smaller clearing where they decided to make camp. She stood to the side while he started a fire. The warm light lifted her worries a bit, but only a little. She couldn’t make heads or tails of her situation. She was in the middle of the forest with a youkai she had only meat not even a week prior. She searched every corner of her mind for information on the man on front of her. She was sure she had heard of him before, she just didn’t know where.

Youko… Youko… than it hit her. He was a thief. One of the best if she could trust her memory (she didn’t usually retain this sort of information). What could he have in common with the great taiyoukai of the west? Come to think of it, she didn’t really care. Now that they had Sesshomaru’s help, Naraku would soon be defeated and she would be able to go home for good. ‘Home,’ she thought ‘where there are no youkai, there’s no Inuyasha…I won’t be able to see Shippou or Sango or Miroku …’ The idea of returning to her time for good didn’t seem to appeal to her as much as it used to. She couldn’t think of this much longer for sleep was claiming its rights.

She grabbed her bag and started looking through it, in search on her pajama. It didn’t take long for her to realize it wasn’t there. Her bag was almost empty since she didn’t bother to put anything back in it before she ran away. She sighed in exasperation, knowing she would have to sleep in her kimono.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The moon was shining on the midnight sky, unmasked by clouds. Its bright form shone upon two still figures in a clearing.

A girl, dressed in a blue kimono, was sleeping next to a campfire. Her head rested on a large yellow bag as flames danced in front of her. On the other side of the clearing, a tall silver form leaned against a tree, watching the fire and the girl. His golden eyes were half closed but his ears picked up every sound, her smallest breath.

The girl started to toss in her sleep. Her face was covered in sweat as she struggled to get away from something. Her nightmare was intense, as real to her as the ones he knew she already had.

The man left his spot from against the tree. Wanting to calm her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She struggled even more, arms swinging around; trying to grab at the one she thought was attacking her.

He retreated, but tried again. This time, a strange energy hit him. It was week, but it was there, he was sure of it.

Her breathes quickened and she began to whimper in her sleep.

Not wanting to startle her again, but seeing there is no way of waking her, he gently took her in his arms. He held her like this, the way he remembered being held when he was just a kit, until she calmed down. He placed her back down and wanted to resume his previous position next to the tree. That’s when he realized he had one of his arms pinned between her and the ground. Not wanting to wake her, he decided to stay like this a while longer, after all, he didn’t mind the closeness at all.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep. His ears were twitching with every rustle of the leaves, listening to anything that could represent a threat. He had been in this state for the past four hours, although it had seemed longer to him.

His head was resting on his right hand, while his other hand was wrapped around the form of a young woman, sleeping with her back to him. Her breathing was even and she looked so peaceful. His sensitive ears picked up a sigh escape her lips every now and then, but, other than that, she seemed submerged in a world of pleasant dreams.

She started to shift in her sleep, so he opened his eyes. Turning over on her other side, she was now facing him. His eyes carefully examined her features.

She looked peaceful indeed: her face was tranquil and a small smile played off her lips, probably a memory from happier times, her hands were gathered under her head, making her look like a sleeping angel, and a strand of hair fell over her face and was probably tickling her nose, making it twitch.

With his left hand, he put the rebel strand of hair back in its place, releasing her form her innocent torture.

As a reply, she nestled into his chest “Just five more minutes…” she murmured.

He placed his left hand over her, again, in a protective manner, much like you would with a child. He could clearly see now the mark left on her shoulder by her torturer, a mark that would always scar her. She would never be free, not in this world. The pain, the suffering and humiliation would follow her forever. However, right now she looked like the embodiment of innocence.

A barely audible growl came from a tree near by. It didn’t take him by surprise; he knew his friend had spent the night there. He was intent on helping him keep his promise of keeping the girl safe, even if it meant to keep her safe from him.

Hiei knew his friend well enough to leave him alone with a female, even if she were ningen.

 


	10. Plans and Feelings

 

A silver figure waited while an old woman fidgeted around. The scene was all too familiar to him. He cleared his throat to remind her of his presence. Although she was old, he doubted she had given into her old age; he had acted only out of reflex.

Her green eyes looked away from her work and turned to the youkai lord. It was always a delight to play with his nerves, but now things were serious and there was no time for games.

“Why has the great Sesshomaru come to see this old bag of bones?” she asked, unable to give up the games.

This time, he didn’t join in. He just stared her down to emphasize the gravity of the situation. “What is going on with the miko?” he asked coldly, as usual.

The old woman turned her back to him.

“She wanted to die, didn’t she?” she asked back. The silence that followed confirmed it. “…How?” she hesitated.

The silence fell again, and then the taiyoukai answered, “She wanted this Sesshomaru to kill her.”

His voice never gave any sign of emotion, but Haruko could sense there was something there. Maybe her plan would work.

“It was expected,” she simply said. “Have you thought about what I have told you?” she suddenly asked. To her surprise, the answer came right away.

“Do you really believe this Sesshomaru would do something like this? It is beneath me”.

It was the first time he ever saw her lose her temper. The old woman’s eyes shot up to him and her voice was higher than normal. “It is beneath you to be with a human, but it is not to use her in your plans to get to Naraku?” she asked him.

“I am not using her; she is already a part of this. She would do whatever it takes to bring down Naraku, not implicating her would offend her more than being used as bait,” was her visitor’s answer.

She nodded, this was right after all. Not wanting to push this further, for the moment at least, she quickly changed the subject.

“Her powers will return soon, if they hadn’t started to come back already.”

Sesshomaru ignored her obvious tactic and waited for the logical continuation.

“For the past days, the girl’s powers have been sealed. It is a stage she had to go through. Unfortunately for her, Naraku seemed to know about this and used her vulnerability against her. Now, she will realize the full extent of her power, she will see her true nature”.

‘Her true nature’… that was right. Sesshomaru wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t know the girl. Her frail exterior hid more than one could imagine, she was courageous, loyal, intelligent, he knew that for years, ever since she first stood up to him. He also knew she didn’t belong in this time and that was what intrigued him further. Aside from that, Haruko had already explained to him the immensity of the girl’s power. _“A child borne of her and a demon of equal power…”_ he remembered Haruko’s words before she had sent him to rescue Kagome. After he had brought her back to the old witch he had found that her plans were similar to Naraku’s.

Knowing what he was thinking about, Haruko decided it was time to intervene. “So, you are considering my plan…” she told him.

Sesshomaru raised one of his eyebrows as he retorted, “This Sesshomaru was only considering the possibility that you may have lost the capacity of thinking straight with age.”

She smiled at this.

“Yes, I am old, older than you can even imagine. That is why I know what I am talking about. The chilled I told you about will be borne, has to be borne. Its power is necessary” she explained, “and the only way this chilled will come to be is if she accepts the father, something Naraku didn’t seem to know of. I believe you are capable of wining her heart, even if the idea of mating a human is so repulsive to you…my lord,” she finished, a bit of irony lacing her last words.

“You forget that this Sesshomaru is nobody’s pawn,” he stated as he took his leave.

“You will do it,” the old woman commented, catching his attention again. “You are the only one worthy of being the father.”

She was answered with a barely audible annoyed growl. “Don’t you think your father had his reasons for taking a human mate?” she pressed despite his now evident irritation.

He suddenly turned to face her. “The ningen you keep pushing in my arms is but a chilled herself, by both human and youkai standards. She has been through so much already and has been tainted in more than one way. Mating a human may be disgraceful, but using a child in such a way is despicable,” he finished, finally leaving the old woman’s cavern.

Finally alone, Haruko chuckled slightly. She knew what she was doing, even if it meant pushing it.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

She woke idly to the sounds of the new day. She was surprised to have slept most of the night in peace after that nightmare had tried to take over. Suddenly she had just felt safe and the darkness had melted away, leaving her in the company of her memories.

The warm sunlight urged half sleeping girl awake. However, it was another heat source that made her eyes snap open. When the fuzziness of sleep finally left her, her eyes met with a firm chest, too close for comfort. She hoped with all her being that the other person didn’t notice she was awake and studying him, for it was clear that it was a male.

Despite wanting to just go back to sleep, as her subconscious wanted, the wheels of her mind began to turn, trying to figure out who it could be. Than it hit her, her fight with Inuyasha, running away, wanting to go home and being stopped right when she was about to jump through the well…

Remembering who it was that foiled her plans, anger and annoyance begun to rise within her.

She removed her gaze from his chest and slowly looked up to meet with a pair of golden eyes and a mischievous smile, not necessarily in that order. The realization of having spent the night with a kitsune hit her and it was enough to make her snap.

She instantly pushed away from him and jumped to her feet. All the stories about kitsune youkai she had heard from her friends and from her grandfather began to swirl in her head, making her forget her situation.

As she got a few feet away from him she realized the smile on his face had turned into a grin and he was now studying her reactions curiously.

Kagome pointed an accusing finger at him.

“You… you… you…” she started, still retreating from him. “I thought you… and last night…”

As she continued to stutter, the said kitsune got to his feet and started walking to her, the amusement in his eyes growing with every frightened step back she took.

Seeing him get up made her even more nervous and it didn’t help her stutter either. “You were supposed to… I never…” she kept going. She finally closed her eyes and shook her head furiously.

“Why did I trust a kitsune?” she asked rhetorically. She stopped her retreat and massaged her temples to clear her thoughts. When she opened her eyes she realized he was just two steps in front f her, the smile still playing at his lips.

“Seeing as you have trouble finding your words, I have a few things to tell you,” he stated, waiting for her approval. She nodded and he continued. “Yes, I am a kitsune and I do have my reputation…” he paused, “…in more than one area. However, I have never been with a female unless we both wanted it.”

Hearing this, Kagome sighed in relief. Despite this, she still didn’t feel comfortable about the past night. How did she end up in his arms?

“As for last night…you had a nightmare and I wanted to calm you down or wake you up. It was the first that happened, but you fell asleep in my arms and I didn’t have the time to wake you,” he answered her unspoken question.

She knew he was saying the truth but she couldn’t shake off the strange feeling she had. She was about to make a comment when she felt something. It was as if there was another presence around, she could tell even if she didn’t know how it was possible. Looking around, she eventually found the one she sensed. In a tree nearby she spotted a short figure clothed in black.

Youko turned to the same spot she was looking in.

“I see you have found Hiei. You should know he was there all night so, if you didn’t believe me the first time, now you have the proof. If you want, you can ask him,” he told her.

Kagome looked up at him and gave him a week smile. “No need, I trust you,” she said, averting her gaze again.

“Do you agree to come back to the castle now?” he asked her, worried about her answer.

She shook her head. “No, but I don’t really have a choice, do I?” she answered weekly.

“No, you don’t,” he said, picking her up and heading to the castle of the Western Lands Lord with Hiei close behind.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It was early morning when Sesshomaru arrived back at his home.

He had wasted a day with his ‘visit’ to Haruko. The old woman only managed to annoy him. Taking his mind off her, he realized the castle was in frenzy. Servants were running around, doing their respective duty, this was something he expected, with the arrival of the other lords and such, but he could also sense his … guests were up to something.

Reaching their chambers, he realized Kagome was missing.

He could hear the tayjia and the monk arguing.

“…he had no right to treat her like he did. Of course she ran, she really hoped he wouldn’t treat her like a traitor,” the woman commented. He could hear her pacing the room.

“If she would have told him from the beginning…” the monk tried to squeeze in.

A loud thud assured the listener of the uselessness of the action.

“Don’t you dare defend him!” the angry tayjia stopped him. “You weren’t there! You didn’t see how he acted! You didn’t hear what he told her! Kagome had every right to go home and that’s where she’ll be safest,” the woman concluded.

So, it seamed his idiot half-brother had upset the miko and now she was gone. That explained her absence and the fact that Youko wasn’t in the vicinity. He was about to enter the room when another body collided with his. He looked down at the apologizing tayjia.

“Sesshomaru-sama, I’m sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she said, avoiding looking at him.

He didn’t bother to spare her a glance. It was clear they were about to leave.

“Are the conditions not to your liking?” he asked, pretending not to know the reason behind their departure. “Where is the miko, Kagome?” he asked coldly.

Sango managed to get up in a relatively dignified manner. She looked up to the demon lord.

“She left,” she stated, “so we’ll take our leave as well, we won’t bother you anymore,” she explained, trying to make her way around him.

Sesshomaru blocked her way with his left hand.

“Stay!” he ordered. “Your friend will be back soon,” he assured.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshomaru was waiting in the gardens. Despite what he told the tayjia, he was beginning to worry himself. The girl had been gone for more than a day now; leave it up to Inuyasha to ruin everything. The hanyou had messed up royally but he couldn’t do anything about it for now. First, he had to make sure Kagome was still here. There was still the chance Youko didn’t manage to get to her own time.

He could tell something was approaching and he recognized it as Kagome and Youko, the little fire demon, Hiei, not far behind them.

It didn’t take them long to appear from the forest that bordered the garden. The girl was sleeping in the kitsune’s arms, unaware of the sight she was offering.

Youko spotted their host as soon as they made it in the gardens.

“She’s heavier than she looks,” he stated before the inu youkai had a chance to utter a word.

In the blink of an eye, Sesshomaru was there, taking the girl from his ‘friend’s’ arms.

Youko’s scent lingered on her form, strong enough not to escape the lord’s fine senses. He managed not to show how much this little detail, although expected due to the way she was brought here, irritated him.

“What happened?” he asked coldly.

“She realized she couldn’t leave home but didn’t want to accept she had to come back here,” Youko answered equally cold.

Sesshomaru simply nodded as he took the still sleeping girl back to her room and her friends. Looking at her tranquil features, he ignored all that happened around him. She looked so different now from how she did four nights ago when she came to his room. He almost felt sorry for keeping her here, when he knew she would be safer back in her time. …Almost. Even if she would be safer away from here, he needed her _here_. He mentally shook his head at the image the last thought implied, it was clear he already had stayed near the kitsune for too long.

Before he could really shake off the last image, he realized they were already at the door of the room the tayjia shared with the girl. Inside, just as he had left them, were the said tayjia and the monk, the kit nowhere in sight.

The first to take notice of the new additions to the room was Sango. Seeing her friend, she forgot about the demon lord holding her and started ordering Sesshomaru around, to his great surprise.

“What happened?” she asked just as they entered the room. Before she could receive an answer, she was already taking control of the situation “Put her on that bed!” she told Sesshomaru as she pointed to the bed next to her own.

When her friend was safely lying on the bed, she pushed Sesshomaru aside so she could check her for any injuries.

Both monk and youkai stood dumbfounded at the sight of the worried young woman. When it came to the safety of her friend, she didn’t seem to care for formalities.

“Oh, Kami! She hasn’t eaten a thing last morning and, for what I know, she hasn’t had anything to eat all day yesterday,” she commented out of the blue. “Get a servant to prepare her something for when she wakes!” she ordered.

Sesshomaru raised a fine eyebrow, he hadn’t seen this side of her, not lately. He looked at the monk who hurriedly left the room, most likely to comply with her order. ‘Impressive,’ he thought to himself.

He left the room abruptly, knowing the other lords would be here soon and he would have to meet with them.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Voices filtered through the weary mind of a half-sleeping girl. From the high pitch she could tell they belonged to children. She couldn’t tell who it was she actually was hearing or where she was. All she remembered was a rose being offered to make amends and the darkness that followed.

“Baka kitsune youkai!” she muttered, suppressing the want to growl. A pair of blue orbs materialized in front of her.

“Who are you calling a ‘baka’?” a familiar voice squeaked. “You promised you wouldn’t make me worry again, and what do you do? You run away without even saying ‘good bye’,” Shippou continued, circling his arms around her neck.

“I wasn’t talking about you, Shippou,” she said, hugging him back. “I’m sorry I left like that but Inuyasha left me no choice,” she explained, looking around the room. That was when she noticed Rin was also there. She told Shippou to make some room and motioned for the little girl to join them. She was reluctant at first but, with some encouragement from Shippou, she soon joined in.

The two kids were now overwhelming her with questions. Some, she answered happily, others, she didn’t know how to avoid. However she was sure of one thing: being around them, their energy made her feel better and recharged her.

A door slid open, letting in a very familiar older girl. She was carrying a tray and her eyes widened at the sight of her friend being awake.

“You’re up?” she half-asked, half-noted. Kagome simply nodded in response.

Sango abandoned the tray in favor of her friend.

“So…?” she questioned.

“So…” Kagome answered back. “If that food is for me, you’re in the right place at the right time,” she said with a half-smile.

“I knew you’d be hungry,” Sango said. “You have no idea how hard it was to convince the cook to make you something. You didn’t eat anything yesterday, didn’t you?” she asked.

Kagome just nodded again, her stomach growling slightly.

Soon enough, all the food Sango brought was gone.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Servants were running around trying to finish what they were supposed to have finished before the lords had arrived and trying their best not to be noticed. In all the commotion, a certain greenish toad made its way to his master’s study. Hesitantly sliding the doors open, the little imp walked in

“Sesshomaru-sama, lord Jiro would like to know when …”

“Tell them to join me here in an hour,” the taiyoukai interrupted his servant.

The toad bowed and turned to leave. Before exiting the room, he seemed to remember something. “My lord…?” he hesitated to ask.

“Yes, Jaken,” was Sesshomaru’s cold answer.

The little imp gulped and continued, “Lady Izumi insisted to come. She claims to sustain your cause,” he said and hurriedly left the study, not wanting to be around his master after that piece of news.

Finally alone, Sesshomaru let out a sigh of annoyance; that was the last thing he needed.

 

 


	11. The Meeting

 

All he wanted to do was shrink into a corner and be gone to the rest of the world. Things weren’t really going his way and he doubted he even wanted the pieces of the puzzle to fall back in the order he initially intended. An enemy no one was ready for was gathering one of the largest armies anyone, human or youkai, had ever seen and was preparing for a battle that would decide the fate of the world as they know it. Most of the lords thought it was just another hanyou seeking power and that he would faille before he even set out because he wouldn’t be able to organize such a massive force.

His only allies were the other two lords of the larger lands, the Northern Lord and the Southern Lord; he didn’t even want to think about the Lady of the East. There was also Lord Jiro, although not a very powerful ally was determined to wash the disgrace his youngest son had brought to the family name by joining Naraku. They had fought by his father’s side and they were aware of the danger they were all in. ­­­

Most of the other lords, although of smaller power, great in numbers, being further from the threat, joined the young lord Kitsu in thinking little of the threat and covering their own backs, just in case…

Oh, yes! Lady Izumi. After showing no interest in the matter at the last meeting, she now considered Naraku a great threat, although her lands were not in immediate danger. Her reasons of being here were obscure to him.

The problem of Naraku’s existence had another side to it, apart from his allies’ loyalty. His plan. At first, it seemed it would be the easiest thing for him to do. The girl was just an ordinary, worthless ningen…right? Come to think of it, he wouldn’t have even considered her worthy of the part she was supposed to play if he thought of her that way.

A fine clawed had reached up to massage a throbbing temple. He had to get through with this; it was in everyone’s best interest. After the battle was won, who cared about the casualties any way? Than why did HE of all people care about who would die in this battle?

Putting aside his thoughts, he waited for the shoji door to slide open and for the three lords to come in.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The sun had set hours ago, darkness making the silence and the uneasiness in the room heavier than it had already been.

It was no surprise to anyone that Naraku had increased his forces, but now they were perfectly aware of the situation at hand. Sesshomaru and his guests sat silently around the room, facing each other, waiting for someone else to break the silence. They had been like this ever since the news that Naraku was ready for war came to them. They never expected this to be so soon.

Finally, Sesshomaru spoke up. “It appears that we too have underestimated this particular foe. We didn’t expect him to be ready for at least a few months now. When I called you all here, it was with the intention of shearing a plan that might have helped us gain a certain advantage. However, this plan required some preparation, time I now fear we do not have,” he explained.

Lady Izumi looked at him questioningly. “What kind of preparation would this plan require; we still have a few months before that… creature is able to get all his men together and prepare an attack. How long would it take for this plan to be put in action?” she asked.

Sesshomaru sighed inwardly. He didn’t really trust her and her presence here wasn’t really welcomed, but this was not the time to refuse help when it was offered, especially since it appeared they were the only ones to consider the hanyou a real threat. He did remember something about her mate dying two days ago, thus making her the sole ruler of the Eastern Lands. Looking at her, she didn’t seem all that affected by the loss. Before he could answer,

Lord Hikaru cut in “I am afraid that I too do not understand why this plan would require so much preparation. We are in fact the strongest rulers of the lands, what could be more effective than our combined armies?” he asked.

They all looked at their host, anxious to hear his answer. Lord Jiro was the first to catch on to something the others seemed to have missed. “I believe our young host here thinks there is a way to completely avoid a war,” he said, smiling knowingly.

Sesshomaru simply nodded. Soon, a flood of questions was aimed at the taiyoukai, most of them from the lady of the east. After calming down a bit, they were now waiting for the desired answers.                                                                                                

“First of all,” Sesshomaru started, “you should know by now that Naraku is in search of the Shikon no Tama and will stop at nothing to get his hands on it.”

They all nodded in response.

“He has also shown great interest in the guardian of this jewel…” he paused, seeing to curious expressions of the others. They have heard of the guardian of the jewel, but none of them seemed to realize what this meant.

Lady Izumi spoke up. “And what does this have to do with us?” she asked. Her pink eyes darted to Sesshomaru, demanding an answer, also showing a hint of jealousy in them. At this point, the taiyoukai of the west started to fear he was the next target of this black widow, although he doubted she would succeed in getting very close.

He shook this thought away but, before he could say anything, Lord Jiro seemed to remember something. “If I recall correctly, the jewel is in the care of a strange young miko. I have seen her once when she tracked down a shard of this particular jewel on my lands. A very interesting ningen to say the least,” he stated gaining the attention of everyone present, except for Sesshomaru’s, who was busy giving orders to a frogysh looking servant.

“But, Sesshomaru-sama, what does _she_ have to do with this?” they heard the squeal of the said servant. With a death glare from his master, the toad hurried out the door to get whomever his master required of him to bring. His reaction was strange by any standards and the youkai lords present in the room wondered what it had to do with Sesshomaru’s plan.

“My servant will be back in a short while,” their host stated and they patiently waited to see what was in store for them. “Until than, I have the time to explain what this has to do with everything. I warn you, it is risky but it can also give us an advantage we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome sat on her bed, looking at Sango and Miroku opposite of her. Shippou had wondered off after he made sure she was alright, to the gardens more than likely, with that sweet little girl, Rin, they seemed to be together a lot come to think of it. Now he was sleeping, in his room this time. She smiled at the thought and was grateful for the fact that her little kit had someone to play with. ‘Her kit’… where did that come from? She didn’t care really.

She was currently studying the face of the monk in front of her. To her surprise, there were no signs of aggression on his face. It seemed Sango had finally given into his persistence, although not likely, or he had finally learned his lesson and decided it was better for him to keep those wondering hands to himself.

A loud slap brought her out of her musing, and a reed handprint on his face proved her wrong. She had been so focused on her friend’s face, that she completely missed his hand slowly reaching for the taijia’s back and then slide down. The slap proved the monk had no intention of giving up his old habits.

They had been like this all morning, silent and unable to say what they knew they wanted to. Miroku had come to see how she was faring and had been here for the past hour or so. Sango had been with her since she had woken. The only one to leave the room was Shippou, who disappeared half an hour after she woke up, going with Rin to the gardens to play.

All her friends managed to get out of her was a summarized version of what happened the last day, while all she got out of them was the news of Inuyasha’s disappearance. Other than that, they were eerily quiet, unable to state their concerns.

The silence had eventually been broken by Sango’s hand connecting to Miroku’s face as a response to his all too familiar way of acting around her. Silence threatened to set in again before mumbling could be heard outside the door. Not long after, a familiar and not so welcomed short green youkai stepped in. He coughed to make his presence known. “Girl, lord Sesshomaru requests your presence in his study”.

Kagome got up and started to walk to the door, when the toad gave her a look-over. It squinted its face in a disgusted manner. “I suggest you change into something more presentable,” it said, pointing to her dirty kimono.

That was when she realized she hadn’t even changed since yesterday.

In a split second, the girl threw the other girl a look that spoke more that words. They immediately grabbed all the bathing supplies they could find and a new kimono and sped out the door with lightening speed. The stunned toad looked after them, his jaw hanging open.

The only other person in the room answered his unspoken question, “I think they’ll be back in about ten minutes, you can wait here for her,” Miroku said as he pointed to a seat in the other side of the room.

Jaken huffed and left, wondering how he would explain this to his lord. Thinking about it for a moment, he came to the conclusion that the girl at least had some sense in her not to appear in front of the lords of the lands in the state she was in.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome sat still, afraid to move a muscle. She was used to be around youkai, but this was too much. She recently discovered she got a strange feeling when she was around them, a feeling that intensified tenfold now, despite only four people being in the room.

She felt uneasy as she looked back at the four looking at her. The eldest, she concluded he looked about sixty, looked at her with kindness and sadness in his eyes, looking like one who had seen the best and the worst life had to offer and only now understood the responsibility bestowed on one who had seen this. Despite, or maybe because of this, he inspired authority and respect. She realized a bit surprised, that he looked at her with curiosity and hope.

She shifted her gaze to another male in the room. He appeared a little older than Sesshomaru, ‘a little’ that could be measured in years, decades or centuries. His sky-blue eyes were studying her carefully, a bit of doubt in them. Beneath the doubt, she was sure she saw hope, but why?

She felt like an exponent in a museum with all these pairs of eyes on her. Sesshomaru was also looking her over, but it was his usual expressionless look, the one she was so used to, but hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a bit discouraging for her that he was the only one whose gaze held no expression towards her.

She ignored him and shifted her attention to another pair of golden eyes, much like his own, only they belonged to a dark haired youkai. He seemed to be the least interested in her person.

Annoyed with this, she turned to the only other female presence in the room, hoping she would give her an answer or a way out. She soon wished never to have done that as she was met with a pair of cold pink eyes, staring at her with…hate? Disgust? Dread? Superiority? She couldn’t tell, all she knew was she hated the feeling it gave her.

She wanted to turn around and run away. Closing her eyes in hopes they would just go away when she opened them again, she felt the feeling she was surrounded by electricity and a certain electrical source stood out from the rest. She opened her eyes to find it was Sesshomaru the one that had caught her attention.

Before she could say anything, lady Izumi’s voice coldly resounded in the thick silence of the night “The miko that started everything… You don’t really look like much…Somehow, I expected you to be older and… stronger,” she said assessing her power and acting as if the girl wasn’t even in the room.

Kagome frowned a little, not really liking the feel of those pink eyes on her or the fact that she was the center of attention. She was trying to pick up any hint that would tell her what was going on.

Sesshomaru was studying the two with a strange look in his eyes, a look that, if you knew what to look for, mirrored the confusion inside his mind. “She is strong enough to have survived so far,” he finally said, ignoring the memory of a terrified young woman coming to his room one night, begging to pe released from the pain, and concentrating on the girl who stood up to danger without considering the consequences of a wrongly placed word in battle, or blindly saving everyone “…and that is all she has to do… for now.”

A confused Kagome looked up at the demon lord. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she got her first clue. She was sure it had something to do with getting to Naraku. Surprisingly, she felt relived; she really wanted to get her revenge. Her skin tingled at the thought of purifying the bastard. Her powers, although still week, were starting to come back and the image of Naraku’s demise caused them to flare a little.

She looked around to find the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces. It seemed they hadn’t expected something like this. She also felt as if the mark she had burned her. It took all her concentration to act as if nothing was happening, it wouldn’t do well to show this weakness, not now anyway.

Sesshomaru was looking at her curiously. He knew something was off. He could sense her uneasiness and there was something she was hiding. He took another careful look and realized what it was: she was trying to fight away the pain caused by the mark. She knew she would have something to do with bringing Naraku down and, since she was bond to him, trying to hurt him would affect her as well. This was an aspect he overlooked.

Kagome’s suffering went unnoticed to the other lords simply because they weren’t looking for something like this. For what some of them cared, she was just a pawn in the game. Only a pair of blue eyes saw something amiss but, then again, she was a miko in close proximity to some very powerful youkai; it was bound to have an effect on her.

Sesshomaru stood up from his spot and turned to her. “I believe it is best for you to return to your chambers, the rest of this conversation does not concern you,” he said when he was a few steps away.

She looked at him questioningly, but didn’t comment. In stead, she bowed low and turned to leave the study. She closed the door behind her and waited for a moment, unable to take another step. Taking a deep breath, she oriented herself through the halls to her room.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“So this is our bait…” lady Izumi commented after she was sure the girl was out of ear shot.

“All we need now is the trap,” Ryuku added.

Sesshomaru came back to his seat. He sat down. “This Sesshomaru has already taken care of this part of the problem.”

“It would be a shame to loose her…” lord Hikaru said, earning a killer look from lady Izumi, but continued unfazed, “we only have one shot at this, if she dies…” he left his sentence unfinished.

“If she dies, we have to be ready for battle. Your armies must be ready at all time and you know what to do about traitors,” Sesshomaru announced, even if they all knew what they had to do.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“You never sleep, do you?” a silver figure asked another, golden eyes waiting for an answer.

“Only when necessary,” the one standing at the desk answered. “Why did you…” he wanted to ask.

“Drug her?” he finished for him. “She wasn’t ready for the trip back,” he simply said.

“She would have been safer,” the other one said, leaving his desk.

“That isn’t the purpose here, isn’t that what you keep telling me?” the first retorted. “Besides, things are finally becoming interesting around here, what do you want a fox to do?” he asked.

Sesshomaru was now only a few steps away from the kitsune, a rare smile playing on the edge of his lips .“Did Jaken tell you what happened?” he asked, expecting the answer.

Youko smirked. “You actually expected him to find me!?” he answered, feigning surprise. The only response he got for the moment was a slight nod, followed by a long moment of silence.

“I believe there is no need to explain what happened during the meeting, since your sensitive ears probably picked everything up,” Sesshomaru eventually said, the smile on his lips becoming clearer. “I need you to watch her closely tonight, she’ll need someone to keep watch for her,” he said, walking past his friend and sliding a door open to leave. He stopped at the sound of the other’s voice.

“Not that I mind the confidence but where are you going?” he asked.

“Do not worry about the confidence you are given, just do what you are told,” Sesshomaru said coldly. “As for where I am going… all you need to know is that there is a little problem that needs solving.”

And with that he was gone, leaving Youko to find his way to the chamber the girl shared with the tayjia. He couldn’t help but feel worried. Not that spending the night watching over a beautiful young woman was something that would bother him; the problem was knowing that the danger that loomed over her was not coming from the outside.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Her eyes burned from the hate in the crimson orbs fixed on hers. She wanted to shut her eyes but, as always, found she couldn’t. She was staring fixedly into her nightmare’s pleased gaze.

“You think you can beat me?” his words insinuated into her ear, his breath so close that it burned. “Do I also have to remind you as well that there is no way of getting away?” he asked.

She tried to squirm away from the feel of his finger that was soon going to touch her skin. A claw tugged at her kimono to reveal the mark he had left there weeks ago. Absently, she noted that this time she was clothed in front of him.

He scratched at the spot, causing a painful flame run through her. “There is nothing you can feel that won’t reach me. The more you think about destroying me, the more powerful I get. You see, you’re actually doing me a favor…” he trailed as his mouth went to follow his finger on her neck.

She wanted to close her eyes, to shut out the reality she knew was not real. Energy was bubbling under her skin and she wonder what would happen if she released it. What if she flares out? She knew she was still too week to do any damage and she had her doubts her powers were ever strong enough to affect him.

She could feel his lips on her skin and, with a final effort, she found herself back in the room she shard with Sango, her friend looking at her worriedly and a strange presence at the back of her mind, a darkness that wasn’t there before, was it?

 

 


	12. Questions

 

Sango was looking at her with a worried expression and Kagome just couldn’t understand what was happening. She squinted her eyes in concentration, trying to make sense of what was going on. She looked at her friend, wanting to say something to calm her but found there was nothing to say, she couldn’t minimize what happened because her friend already knew what she was going through.

It didn’t take long to register another presence in the room. She looked over Sango’s shoulder to find the tall form of Youko standing behind her with a strange expression in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she bit, not finding anything better to say. To her surprise, he just smiled back.

“I let him in,” Sango said. She came closer to Kagome and took one of her hands in hers. A short silence followed until Sango spoke again. “If it weren’t for him, I’m not sure we could have waken you in time.”

Kagome stared at the two. She thought she woke up on her own, what did they have to do with anything? She was still upset at him because of what happened in the forest and the way he brought her back. Concentrating on him, she stared off waiting for an explanation.

“I think we should talk in private,” Youko said, waiting for the other girl to leave.

Sango got the hint but was reluctant to leave. He might have helped her friend but he was still not to be trusted. She looked over to Kagome only to find her friend nod in approval. Sighing, she got up and started for the door. “I’ll go check on Shippou. Kagome…” she started but left the sentence unfinished, a ‘be careful’ hidden behind the unspoken words. Kagome smiled back and nodded, encouraging her to leave them alone.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It didn’t take long for Sesshoumaru to find what he had been looking for. A fair distance from his castle, he sensed his half-bread brother. He didn’t care much about his whereabouts, but it was a good chance to get some answers. He could sense the hanyou retreating so he must have realized he was followed. Sesshoumaru smirked, this wouldn’t take long.

With a burst of speed, he cut through the trees and headed off his pray. Inuyasha came to an abrupt stop, eyes widened at the sight of his brother’s presence. “What do you want now?” he bit, wanting to get it over with.

Sesshoumaru frowned. “I believe it is you who needs to explain yourself to this Sesshoumaru. You are acting irrational even for you,” Sesshoumaru answered.

Inuyasha huffed and turned to leave. “What do you care? If you’re talking about Kagome, you should know she deserved it. She wouldn’t have hidden something like this from me if she had nothing to do with it. At least Kikiou didn’t lie to me, why would she?” he said.

“Than why were you coming back? I do not think you were coming to say ‘hi!’ to your brother,” Sesshoumaru told him coldly.

Inuyasha looked away, not knowing what to say. He was confused and had his doubts ever since his fight with Kagome. He didn’t really want to trust Kikyou, but at the moment it made sense, in a way. He didn’t really know why he lashed out at Kagome but it had something to do with Naraku’s scent on her, with the mark he saw on her. She was no longer his Kagome, she was no longer free and, in stead of helping her, he did the first thing that came to his mind – he threw all his suppressed anger at her, hoping to at least get rid of the guilt he felt for not protecting her. He wasn’t sure he had the right, but he wanted to check on her, to make sure she was alright, even though he didn’t think he had the right to see her again after what he did. He wanted to make sure she was safe, that was why he was coming back. He had taken his time to return, afraid of what would happen if she saw him, but he couldn’t help the feeling that, if he came back soon enough, she might forgive him.

He looked back at his brother. He wasn’t going to admit his worries to _him_ of all people so he slipped on his usual uncaring face. “I was just curios why you got her back? How important is she for you to want her back?”

“It was not me who brought her back, it was Youko,” Sesshoumaru answered coldly, trying to divert him.

“It doesn’t matter, really, since he does what you tell him,” Inuyasha shrugged. “Why did you bring her back? She would have been gone and out of Naraku’s reach, it would have made things easier,” he continued, putting into words the thought that plagued him ever since. Kagome going home would have been the only positive outcome from their fight, she would have been five hundred years into the future, where nothing could get to her. Of course, this thought sprung to his mind only after she left and it was the only thing that kept him sane, knowing her safe even if she would never forgive him.

“It doesn’t concern you anymore,” Sesshoumaru retorted. “I suggest you do not return around here, it is in your best interest. I have speared your life so far because I didn’t want to damage my home and there was no need to you from there since you seemed to behave. Unfortunately, you have worn out your welcome. Even your friends agree you should not come near the miko. The next time you try to come back, I will not be as forgiving with you,” he said in an uncharacteristically long way.

Inuyasha turned around to leave, sick of fighting for the first time in his life. He looked over his shoulder at his brother. Sesshoumaru stood looking back at him, waiting for one of those characteristic Inuyasha answers.

More out of habit, Inuyasha bit out “Keh! What do you care about her anyway?” and took off running in the opposite direction.

Sesshoumaru turned as well and headed for his castle, still not understanding his brother even if that was not his reason for finding him in the first place. He didn’t even know what he expected to happen after he found the half-bred. His brother’s last words didn’t affect him at all. What DID he care about her…right?

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome didn’t even bother to get out of bed. She was too tired for that. Instead, she was standing upright on her bed, half covered by the sheets. She was taking advantage of the silence that seemed to settle so often since she got here to study her … bodyguard, sitting Indian style across from her. It was amazing to her how much he looked like Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. The same golden eyes, silver hair… actually, more like a mix between the two, with Sesshoumaru’s proud demeanor and ears like Inuyasha’s propped on top of his head. He looked so familiar to her; it both scared and comforted her at the same time. For a short moment she wondered if there was anything else linking him to this family, this twisted family. It didn’t take long for the thought to be easily dismissed. There was no way they were related.

She took another look at his face. He was thinking, probably, of how to say what he wanted to tell her. The smile that often graced his lips when in her presence was missing. It was a more mature version of the smile Shippou gave her when he wanted or expected something from her. Despite the age difference, it was still more playful and innocent than she expected from a grown up kitsune, maybe because he didn’t look at her the way…well, the way she was used to think a kitsune would look at a female.

It took a while to register the fact that he stopped thinking and was now looking back at her. Her cheeks turned a faint pink shade and she noticed said smile appearing on his lips. She closed her eyes, only to be meat with his voice.

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better,” he said, giving her the feeling she had been caught in the act. She was still thinking over the question of what she was in the act of when he cleared his throat, getting her attention.  

In the blink of an eye, he was back to being serious, pinning her with an unemotional look. “You’re connected to him, you know that,” he stated. She nodded so he continued, “There is no way to break this connection until he is dead. Until than, you’ll keep having these nightmares.”

Kagome was looking at him confused. It seemed everyone was aware of her condition and knew more about it than she did. She wanted to know more so she gave him a questioning look.

He was looking her in the eyes. “I whish I could tell you more, but it is a very rare situation. To be honest, this is the first time I here of something like this happening,” he told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, more confused by the minute.

He took a deep breath and started, “He marked you as his mate...” He paused as she turned her gaze down to look at the mark at the base of her neck, than continued, “…it is understandable that you should be connected,” She nodded again. “But…you are a miko…”

“What does this have to do with anything?” she cut in.

He paused for a moment. “Your energy should have stopped him. It should have purified him the moment he tried it…” he explained but was cut off again.

“I had no way to use my energy, it was blocked somehow,” she retorted, a bit defensively.

“I’m not saying you accepted it or anything. Even if you accepted him as your mate, I doubt it could have worked,” he stated. She was silent, so he continued, “Your powers are coming back, right?”

She just nodded.

“And you don’t feel anything different?” he asked.

She tilted her head a little to get another perspective on things. “It hurts like shit and I feel him always watching…if that’s what you meant,” she answered, half-annoyed.

“You’re stronger than I first thought, maybe Sesshoumaru was right,” he said getting up.

“Wait!” she stopped him before he could leave. “What did you mean?” she asked, still curious as to what interest Sesshoumaru could have in her person.

He looked at her and answered, “I’m just here to protect you, if you want to know what’s going on in his mind…you should ask him, don’t you think?” With that, he was about to leave again when she asked:

“Why?”

He stopped again and tilted his head like she did earlier. He didn’t turn, but waited for her to finish her question. Just a few seconds later she did. “Why are you protecting me?”

He smiled without her saying it and said “Sesshoumaru asked me to.” He wanted to take another step toward the door but was stopped by her voice again.

“You don’t look like someone who listens to what others tell him to do…”

“You don’t want your friend to wear a trench in the floor, do you?” he cut her off. She lost hope of getting an answer when he started again. “Let’s just call it a debt of honor,” he said and slid the door open.

“I didn’t try anything,” he told Sango and left.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The first rays of sun were beginning to warm the world when Sesshoumaru finally came back to his castle. It was an unusually quiet morning, considering the fact that the four lords were leaving. The servants managed to finish their work without being seen or heard, every detail ready without fuss and without attracting attention, so unlike the day they came. He headed to his room, not having anything else to tell them before they left.

He finally reached his room and he had to admit he felt relived. It had been a tiring night. First the meeting with his allies, although he had to admit it went better than he expected, all he whished for now was that his plan worked just as well; and than chasing down his brother, something he had doubts about being a good idea. He shut his eyes, hoping to get at least a little peace this morning, although he severely doubted it. It was too late, or early, to sleep. Not that he needed it but it was a good way of getting his thoughts in order.

He was certain Naraku had attacked the miko in her sleep again. From what Haruko told him, it was a special situation. Pieces were starting to fit but there were still questions. He couldn’t understand the connection that tied her to her tormenter, it was too strong and it seemed to be only one way.

A clawed hand went up to his temple where a splitting headache was starting to make itself known. Demons weren’t susceptible to pain and such ailments were rare but to Sesshoumaru the past week seemed nothing more than a continuous headache. He had been putting too much thought into this and was now suffering the consequences.

He thought about the girl again. He _should have_ let her leave, that way she would have been out of the way.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome was nervous, a state that wasn’t unfamiliar to her. Only in the past weeks she had been nervous, afraid, terrified, ashamed, lonely, alone, desperate … suicidal…, hopeful, destroyed, confused…and the list could go on forever. In two weeks she had gone through a kaleidoscope of emotions, most of them on the negative end of the spectrum. Nervous was something she could live with.  

She reached to knock, but pulled her hand back. She couldn’t find the strength to do it. It was silly considering why she was here the last time. It was when she thought there was only one way out and that Sesshoumaru had the key. He was the key again, only to another door.

The young girl gathered all her strength and slid the doors open, not caring about manners anymore.

She found herself face to face with the one she was looking for, although her nose was reaching just above the top of his armor. She looked up to see a slightly annoyed Sesshoumaru.

“If my memory serves me right, it is customary to knock before entering ones room,” he told her, almost making her forget the reason she was here.

“Why?” she asked, determined to stay on track.

He simply raised an eyebrow. “I believe it is impolite to do so. You show no respect for ones private life not doing so,” he explained patiently.

Kagome blinked in confusion. The thought of Sesshoumaru giving her lessons on good manners was too much and actually happening was even more. At least it made her feel a little less nervous than she did before. But a little wasn’t enough.

“Why didn’t you let me leave? Why do you think I can be of any help in bringing Naraku down? Why did you get Youko to watch me? And I can go on like this for a long time. There are a lot of ‘why’-s, the one about knocking is at the end of the list and I already know it,” she managed to say. It struck her odd her voice didn’t shiver one bit and she was looking his straight in the eye. One thought was coursing through her mind, echoing in the darkness that settled there: she was going to die here and now.

She blinked, again and again, not believing she could still see the light of day and there was no blood gushing out of her body.

To her surprise, he started talking, “You are here because you are an important piece in catching Naraku. He needs you and will stop at nothing to get his hands on you. Youko is here to watch over you since your friends already lost you to the bastard and it wouldn’t be wise to let that happen again. The only way I can answer other questions you may have is if you actually ask them, despite my many skills, mind reading isn’t one of them.” His monotone voice raced through her head. She found it disturbing to have her questions answered so easily, and by him.

Trusting he would answer as he had said, she started again. “I’m an important piece in your plan… I’m the bait, right?’ she asked.

He tilted his head to the side, “If you whish to call it that,” he answered.

Kagome took a deep breath. “I’m the cheese in the mousetrap,” she continued, the only answer she got from him was his head tilting to the other side in confusion. “Can this piece of cheese know at least how the mousetrap looks like?” she asked. It was clear her wording was confusing to him.

“If you refer to the plan of bringing Naraku down…” he started, “I am afraid I can not tell you about it, it would be too dangerous.”

Kagome looked away. Why did she expect him to tell her something like this?

She wasn’t going to ask anything else; she knew there won’t be any more answers. “I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said and left, not even turning to look once at him.

It had been a long night and now it was a long morning. Something told Sesshoumaru it wasn’t going to end here, something was going to happen and he was sure he wasn’t going to like it.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A familiar toad was frantically searching the garden for two children he knew were playing hide and seek. It had been bad enough having to watch over one, even if it was ningen, but two was already too much, especially a kitsune.

It didn’t take Jaken long to realize he wasn’t very liked by them, a thought that, under different circumstances, would have made him feel relatively good. The thought of what Sesshoumaru would do to him if the children were lost caused a shiver to run down his spine.

He was certain he heard laughter coming from a distant corner of the garden and headed that way. He searched the bushes, hoping to find them there. To his surprise, they weren’t. All he found was another of the fox’s toys.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou was following behind Rin as the little girl lead him to their next hiding place. He had to admit it was fun to annoy Sesshoumaru’s servant and it seemed to be one of the girl’s favorite activities.

She started climbing up a tree and stopped to look back at him. “Well?” she asked.

The kit complied and turned into his balloon form to take her to one of the top branches. Once settled comfortably, he spoke up. “Why are we doing this again?”

Rin smiled and giggled. “Jaken-sama wants me to be out of sight while the guests are here so I’m staying out of sight,” she answered. One of her little hands grabbed his bushy tale and tugged, making his yelp in pain. “And you’re helping.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled, checking his tale to see if it was ok. Rin was the kind of girl that became very attached to the ones she liked and at the moment she was very attached to his tail. “Are we going to spend all day here?” he asked as he straightened up.

The girl put a finger on her chin as if she was making a decision and needed to think about it. “Nope!” she finally said. She pointed to the edge of the forest. “We’re going there! He won’t find us there and we’ll heave where to play.”

Shippou looked in the direction she pointed, it was pretty far away but he thought they could make it without their annoying babysitter could find them.

He took her hand in his, while with his other he pulled out a small wooden horse and threw it in the air. It turned into a larger version of the toy and hovered in front of them.

Rin couldn’t stop herself from staring at it in wonder; her friend hadn’t showed her that trick before.

The kit jumped on and encouraged her to do so as well. “What are you waiting for?” he asked.

Without another word, the girl jumped behind him and they were heading for the spot she showed him earlier. From above, they could see Jaken desperately looking for them and calling the girl. They landed once they were sure they couldn’t be spotted under the cover of the treas.

Once on the grown, the horse popped back into its small form and Shippou put it back in his pocket. Rin was already running around, telling him to catch her, when he heard a noise. He told Rin to be quiet, but the girl thought it was part of the game.

“Come here!” he told her. “I think there’s someone here,” he whispered.

The girl turned her brown eyes to him, his words earning her full attention. She followed him through the bushes as he moved towards the intruder.

The figure led them in circles to the edge of the forest on the other side of the gardens. Here they saw Kagome.

Shippou was starting to panic. The figure was heading for his friend and he couldn’t do anything to warn her without giving himself away. Rin was peering over his shoulder, trying to make out what was going on. She was about to make him fall over when the figure came out of the forest and the sun’s rays revealed her to be an old miko. At least she looked like one.

Shippou noticed her clothes were a bit different. She was wearing a gray haori and dark crimson hakama. Her gray hair spilled over her shoulders like a veil. They were too far away to see her face and Shippou moved closer to get a better view. Before long they ran out of cover and had to give up their attempts to get closer.

“You’re alone, child,” they heard her say.

Kagome turned to face her. She looked confused and stuttered to find her words. “How did you get here?” Kagome asked, surprised to find another human here. “Who are you?” she continued her questioning.

The old woman seemed to smile and put down the bow she had been leaning against for support. Kagome came closer, still unable to give up her helping nature. “Let me help you,” she offered as she held a hand out to support the old woman.

She took it and, this time, really smiled. “You are too good, child, too good,” she said, her gray eyes, void of pupils, searching the depths of Kagome’s chocolate eyes.

The girl smiled confused, not sure what else to say.

“You’re a miko,” the girl half asked as she guided the old woman to a place they could sit down and talk, a place that happened to be closer to the edge of the forest.

As they sat down, the old woman answered. “You could call me that…”

Kagome sat in silence, waiting for her to continue and watched in fascination as the sun turned the woman’s gray hairs silver.

“It was a long journey and I hope I could be of help,” she started. “I am the Akiko” she said, answering the girl’s first two questions. She put a weary hand on the girls shoulder, sending a strange feeling through her body. “I am here to bring you answers, child.”

 

 


	13. Legends and Lies

 

There was nothing but darkness and even that she couldn’t be sure of. She couldn’t tell for how long she had been here, since time was the first to fade from her conscious mind. A strange feeling of emptiness flowed over her, swirling around her like a whirlwind. Floating in nothingness, that’s how she would describe it if she was asked, but she was sure it wasn’t really right. There was something else there, something that always tugged at the edge of her mind, and now it was drawing her to it.

A sudden flash of light brought her out of her mussing as a familiar energy engulfed her. It was the same strange sensation she felt when traveling through the well or when she was close to the jewel only… this was darker, colder and more menacing. Her heart skipped a beat. It was there, with here…the jewel.

She felt drawn to it, though she didn’t know where it was. The energy seemed to come from all over. It seemed to come from inside her. Her powers were firing up, trying to focus on it, trying to purify it.

Darkness took over again and she felt herself floating to consciousness.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou’s hairs were standing on end.

He had moved as close as possible to Kagome and the old woman, only a few bushes separating them. He was about to jump out when he saw them move closer to the forest, certain they would sense his presence. When they didn’t, he relaxed somewhat, focusing his energy in making out what they were saying.

It seemed to be safe and he was about to tell Rin they should go back into the forest, leaving them alone, when something coughed his attention. He turned around to find Kagome falling to the ground,unconscious. In seconds, he could feel he energy rise and crackle, a pale blue light surrounding her.

His brain was telling him to get away before he got purified, but this wasn’t the time to listen to his brain. Kagome was in danger and he had to do something.

The last time he listened to his instincts, Kagome was taken by Naraku. He couldn’t let it happen again.

Just a few steps, that was all that kept him from saving Kagome, that was all that kept him from getting purified. If he could make those steps, Kagome had a chance. …something was keeping him.

He looked down to find a pair of tiny hands circling his chest, holding him in an iron grip. He looked back to find Rin looking at him with her big chocolate eyes. “Please!” she whispered, increasing her grip on him. “Please!” she repeated. “We need to tell Sesshoumaru-sama.”

Shippou ignored her and turned to look at Kagome again. She was slowly waking up and her powers were calming. Absently, he nodded in approval to Rin and quietly followed her back to the castle.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

With effort, Kagome opened her eyes, surprised to still be alive. The first thing that met her gaze was Akiko’s ancient face, her gray eyes filled with concern.

“It’s already starting,” she said to herself, the words meaning nothing to the girl.

“What happened?” Kagome asked, blinking in confusion. It never happened to her before. The jewel was calling for her, she was sure of it. She didn’t know why.

The old woman gave her a knowing look, certain the girl had already figured out what had happened. In stead of an answer she helped the young miko up and waited for her to start the expected line of questioning.

It never came. Kagome sat quietly, waiting for her heart to slow down and trying to understand her own reaction. A butterfly came in her line of sight and she concentrated on it, her eyes trailing after the little insect as it flew from flower to flower, ignoring their presence. When she finally spoke, her voice seemed a distant whisper. “You said you have answers…” she trailed off, her eyes still mesmerized by her little distraction.

Silence settled in, neither of them wanting to part with it. The only sound that would disrupt this flow of things was the rustle of leaves.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Something was bothering Sesshoumaru. A distant and vaguely familiar presence was tugging at his senses, keeping him on edge. Aside from that, he could feel the scent of fear coming from where he last thought the children of being. Worried by the implications of this association, Sesshoumaru was now heading for the edge of the forest.

As he got closer, he realized the situation was more complicated than he first thought. Kagome was there and she was the closest to the unfamiliar presence. His eyebrows knitted closer at this thought and he increased his speed.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Two children were speeding through the forest, following a path that could get them back to the castle without being noticed. Somehow, during this sprint, Shippou managed to get ahead of Rin, helping the little girl. His efforts weren’t as necessary as he thought, Rin being able to make her way through the thick foliage with ease.

The little kitsune couldn’t believe he was doing this, running away in the hope someone else would be able to defend Kagome. He stubbornly closed his eyes and shook his little head, trying to make sense out of the jumbled mess in there. They were almost out of the forest when he came to an abrupt stop, causing Rin to bump into him.

The girl turned curious eyes to him, waiting for an answer.

He said nothing, just turning around and heading back. After just a few steps he could feel her clinging to him, stopping his moves.

“I need to help Kagome, I can’t just leave her alone!” he snapped at her, his blue eyes reflecting thunderstorms.

The little girl released him, turning her back to him. “You’ll get hurt!” she told him. “We need to tell Sesshoumaru-sama, he’ll save Kagome,” she insisted, bowing her head. “And I don’t want you to get hurtm” she added in a whisper.

Shippou was surprised at her comment but puffed up his chest. “Keh!” he said much like Inuyasha. “I can handle it.” He smiled and wanted to tell her he was going back.

A movement behind her made him stop. Still smiling, he pointed in the direction he had been looking in.

Rin turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of Sesshoumaru going the opposite direction. She nodded and practically dragged Shippou back with her. She knew that if her Sesshoumaru-sama was there, they would be safe.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The rustle of leaves and a soft breath were the only things that reached Sesshoumaru’s ears once he came close to where he expected to find Kagome in danger. A little surprised, he decided to play it safe and not reveal his presence unless necessary. As he approached, he used the cover of the trees to keep himself hidden.

To his surprise, he found Kagome standing in silence with a strange woman, a miko if you were to judge by her clothes. His golden orbs studied her closely, unsure of what he found familiar about her. He was certain he never met her before, yet there was something about her… something that reminded him of someone else.

Kagome looked as if she just had another nightmare, something that could explain her anxiety, but he was sure there was more to it.

The two women gave off a strange energy, sparks flying in their proximity. It was clear at least one of them was a source of great power and he was starting to worry about what he had gotten himself into. There was no turning back now so he waited for the scene to play out in front of him.

The old woman seemed to have sensed him. His eyes narrowed worriedly but he relaxed when seeing her nod. A vague smile graced his lips. It looked like he had permission to be here…

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Akiko was surprised to find silence as the girl in front of her waited for her explanation. She felt a presence at the edge of her senses and turned her gaze to the trees. She nodded briefly and turned back to the girl, assessing there was no danger.

“Child…” Akiko finally decided to break the silence. “You are familiar with the legend of the Shikon no Tama? ... How it came to be?”

A distant memory of their visit to the tayjia village echoed in Kagome’s mind. She blinked insistently, trying to focus.

The jewel’s presence was still painfully recent in her mind and it took a little effort to keep her train of thought. The echo turned into a clear picture as she focused on Midoriko and the battle she waged against the youkai. She saw the remains in the cave and knew it was true. The legend had remained engraved in her mind ever since. The battle, how Midoriko had sacrificed herself to entrap her adversary, the birth of the Shikon no Tama and the war that was still going on inside that tiny jewel, the legend of the jewel was the only thing Kagome was sure of right now, the only thing she knew was real.

She knew the old woman already knew these things so she just nodded.

“You also know how to end its existence …” Akiko continued.

Kagome realized the old woman was pinning her with her gaze, her gray eyes piercing her own. She shut her eyelids and bowed her head. “A pure whish,” she whispered.

“Child!” Akiko called her.

Kagome opened her eyes and looked at the old miko, only to find her smiling.

“Child,” she repeated, “there is no such think as a pure whish.” As she spoke, creases appeared at the corners of her mouth and eyes. She wasn’t laughing yet she gave the impression she was. “Whishes always cause more trouble than they’re worth, they always disturb the order of things,” she continued.

Kagome was lost. There had to be a whish. The old woman had to be making fun of her. “What about changing a hanyou into a human? What about someone’s life?” Kagome asked.

The old woman shook her head and made a disapproving noise.

“Why do you think changing someone into something he is not passes as a pure whish? We all have to live with who we are and being human or youkai doesn’t mean it is better than being hanyou. I know what you were thinking about, your previous incarnation had a similar idea,” she said, giving Kagome a disapproving stare. “As for someone’s life,” she continued, “I’m sure you refer to the life of one who has already passed. Bringing them back only causes grief and disrupts the balance of nature. Not to mention that the whish would affect others in ways you can’t expect. Just look at your predecessor…”

Kagome wasn’t going to give up just like that. “What about love?” she insisted.

Akiko gave her a knowing smile and chuckled. “That, my child, is the most selfish whish of all…unless it can restore the balance,” she concluded.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

      

Sesshoumaru was getting curious about this old woman. The way she talked and the things she was saying reminded him of someone, of a certain old woman who thought she had the right to intrude in his life. There was no doubt about it. The two seemed to know something he, or any of the others for that matter, didn’t. Something was telling him it was time to come out, less he wanted something unwanted to happen.

As he got closer, he could tell they were surprised: at least one of them didn’t know he was there earlier and the other wasn’t expecting him just yet. However, he was the most surprised of all as the old woman’s energy was becoming clearer the closer he got.

He was a few steps from them when he looked closely into her eyes. His own golden ones narrowed as he tilted his head. “You are youkai!?” he said with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Kagome was shocked by this new accusation. Until then she had been certain the old woman was some sort of miko, nothing about her giving off the impression that things would be otherwise. Her gaze turned from one to the other, waiting for an answer, wanting to see who was wrong.

“If you whish…” Akiko answered.

 

 

 

 

 


	14. Answer

The two stared absently at the old woman. She was as much of a mystery to the taiyoukai as she was to the girl from the future. A weak, faded smile played on her lips as a light, blue mist started gathering around her. The mist soon filled the whole area, hiding Akiko from the waiting gazes of her watchers.

Kagome wrapped her arms around herself tightly, an eerie coldness spreading with the mist. It reminded her of the mist used by the old man when he took her to Naraku. The mere thought of this spread more chills through her body than the cold in the mist. She closed her eyes, trying to will away the memories. A few seconds later, she opened them to find the mist was clearing.

Sesshoumaru was there, a few feet away from her, a blurry, white shadow; his eyes still fixed on the spot Akiko used to stand in. The mist was still thick there, but the girl was almost sure there won’t be anyone there when it cleared.

She could again feel the call of the jewel, only weaker than before. She was no longer drawn to that strange, dark force that yelled to be purified, but had the even stranger feeling the jewel was now drawn _to_ her. Coldness turned to warmth as her powers flared and spiked and the last strings of mist vanished just as they had appeared.

Akiko was no longer there and, in that split second it took Sesshoumaru to move his stare from that spot to the young girl, his mask of coldness slid off, revealing his confusion to her. However, in that same split second, it slipped back on, sending a warning signal to the girl in front of him.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

After the mist had dulled his senses, it took the spike in the young miko’s energy to bring him out of his trance.

As the mist cleared, he could feel the world flowing as usual around him. It took him a split second to realize the old woman was gone and just as long to see the look in the girl’s eyes… She had seen him in a moment of confusion, a moment of weakness. The thoughts that had raced through his mind in that moment were something he would never admit to out loud. So many things depended on this girl and he had just been reminded how fragile she actually was. So many things he never cared about were depending on him and he couldn’t adjust to the idea that he got himself willingly into this fine mess before him. So many questions were still waiting for answers …

It was …

He wanted …

She …

But in that split second his universe fell back into place and his cold stare showed her just that.

His cold voice cut through the silence like a diamond through glass, catching her attention.

“Come,” was all he said, but didn’t turn to leave immediately, like he would have done normally. Instead waited for her to collect her scattered thoughts and come out of the shock of their recent encounter. With her by his side, he turned towards his castle, both heading in the direction, a miko and her white shadow, walking in silence, each ignoring the flood of emotions and questions that filled the other.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Jaken scampered into his master’s study, ready for new orders and hoping it had nothing to do with him loosing sight of the children again. He could swear those kinds were doing it on purpose. Rin, he had gotten used to, but the kitsune, Shippou, was a real hand full. Why didn’t his master get someone else to take care of them?

The higher rank he possessed among Sesshoumaru’s servants and the long lasting devotion he had shown to his master should have saved the old toad from a fate so cruel and a job so lowering as babysitting. With these thoughts, Jaken entered his master’s study where he would receive new instructions. Ones that, hopefully, wouldn’t involve taking care of children…

The small youkai slid the doors closed behind him and turned to bow in front of his master. With his forehead touching the floor, he waited… and waited… As no word came from his master, he risked raising his head …

Sesshoumaru didn’t even notice his froggy servant coming in; he was too busy staring down at the human girl in front of him. Sparks seemed to fly between the two as their eyes were focused on each other. If their talk had started in the usual, dignified manner that so suited his master … it was hard to tell. For how long they had been at it, even harder. Jaken’s eyes seemed to bulge, even more than they already have, and a surprised squeak wanted to escape his throat … but he thought better of it.h

Kagome’s eyebrows knitted together in frustration as she, for the who-knew what time, tried to explain herself.

“But you can see I’m fine,” she pleaded. “I need to see her!” Her voice was gaining that pleading quality he had heard Rin use whenever she really wanted something. If this was a specific attribute of all humans, or just of annoying females, he didn’t want to know. For now, he was curious to decipher his master’s thoughts.

Sesshoumaru looked as impassive as ever, only his eyes betraying a certain degree of annoyance.

“You are not going!” he said, using the same tone he usually used to explain things to Rin.

Jaken had to admit the scene before him was somewhat entertaining…

“Akiko is dangerous,” Sesshoumaru continued his comment and it was clear he wasn’t saying it for the first time that day. “Her powers are greater than you imagine…” he said, pausing to look at Kagome as she scoffed, “and her intentions are anything but clear.”

His words had no impact on the girl. She just rolled her eyes and mumbled something about no one having clear intentions around her and being just as ‘in danger’ with the old woman as she was with the ‘scheming demon lord in front of her’.

Jaken was sure the girl’s luck ended right there when he saw his lord raise his hand. No matter how little he liked the girl, he thought the scene had played a little too far and, if he wouldn’t announce his presence soon, he would have an angrier taiyoukai on his hands … which wasn’t particularly healthy for small, low-level youkai such as himself. Pondering between getting out as quickly and quietly as possible and pretending he hadn’t seen anything, and stopping whatever was about to happen from happening, he chose the second option.

He lowered his gaze again and tried to figure out what to do before the hit would come…

It never did.

Sesshoumaru’s hand rested gently but firmly on he girl’s jaw, drawing her gaze to his. He was unfazed by the servant’s attempt to distract his attention, instead, focusing on the girl. “You are…” he started firmly.

“I am…?” the girl repeated dumbly, as if in a trance.

“Not…” he continued.

“…not…” she repeated again.

“To leave the castle!” he finished.

“…to leave…” she repeated and finally understood where this was leading. “Oh, no you’re not!” she bit. “I’m not falling for that one,” she said.

Jaken was trying to make sense of what he saw and heard, but it was far beyond his limits to understand such a development. If he recalled correctly, the last time he saw the girl she was cooperative, too in shock after whatever happened to her to even care who was there… at least, that was what he thought… and now, she was defying his master… and getting away with it. He was starting to regret not being here from the beginning, who knows what had lead to this scene?

It took Jaken a while to realize he was now the focus of attention in the room, both Sesshoumaru and Kagome realizing his presence. The girl seemed flustered, realizing how she had behaved in front of her host and the danger she had submitted herself to, while Sesshoumaru was more worried about the impression he had given off. It wasn’t every day he showed so much emotion in something, not even in his little squabbles with Rin, squabbles Jaken had only witnessed twice.

The frog was starting to get a little worried for his own safety at this point… maybe his first choice would have been safer…

A few moments passed in uncomfortable silence… accompanied by more silence… before Jaken considered it his duty to distract his master’s attention from what happened.

“You wished to… see… me, master?” he hesitantly asked.

Kagome found the opportunity to excuse herself, not too sure how to go about it. Receiving a mere nod from Sesshoumaru, she took it as her queue to leave.    

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Mumbling and bumbling, mostly to himself, Jaken was making his way through the corridors to the ‘guest chambers’. Why were those ningen still her was a mystery to him. His master had his plans and there was nothing a little toad could say against it.

When he reached the monk’s room, silence was all that greeted him. It took him a few seconds to figure where to look next, the obvious choice was the miko’s room; there he will find all of them.

He slid the door open, not even bothering with knocking. Indeed there they were: both the monk and the taijia, softly talking with their friend. He couldn’t really make out their words, nor did they continue their talk after he came in.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kagome was telling the others about her strange meeting with Akiko. The old woman had truly made an impression on her. She didn’t know if she should tell them everything, especially about the fears that ware haunting her. There was also the incident with Sesshoumaru she didn’t want to mention…

“I fear it is best for you to stay here,” commented Miroku.

To his surprise, Kagome didn’t object. She was too lost in her worries to even consider alternatives to staying here.

“We still have a mission to complete,” said Sango. She didn’t like being here, despite her initial opinion of Sesshoumaru having changed a little since they arrived. Her concern for Kagome was amplified by the strange feeling she was having. Not really sure what it was, she wasn’t going to just wave it off. Something was about to happen and they had better be prepared when it came. She wanted to add something about going after Naraku when the door slid open and Jaken made his way in.

Both Miroku and Sango were the objects of the toad’s focus. He bowed, not as low as he would have for someone he deigned worthy. “My master wishes to see you,” he started. The two looked at their friend and she merely nodded back.

“We’ll be back soon,” Sango promised. With that being said, the two followed the toad to Sesshoumaru’s study.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“Is there something wrong?” Youko asked, appearing out of nowhere in Sesshoumaru’s study.

The taiyoukai kept quiet, leaving the fox to draw his own conclusions. There was no need explaining what he already knew.

“The same old story… or does it have to do with the strange presence from earlier?” he asked, his face mimicking Sesshoumaru’s cold features.

Sesshoumaru didn’t seem to take notice of the question and continued as if to himself. “This miko…” he said, “…Akiko…she seems familiar. Her scent as well as her energy… We shall be on the look out for her. She might pose a threat.”

Youko nodded in response. There was little need for words.

“You will need to be on guard tonight,” he instructed. “I will probably be back by dawn so the miko will be on her own.”

Hearing the last part, Youko’s ears twitched a little. It wasn’t a surprise to hear he was off who-knows-where, but… “What of the others?” he inquired.

Sesshoumaru paused for a moment before answering. “There is something I need them to do,” he said simply.

Youko nodded again and disappeared when the door slid open to let the small froggy servant introduce Kagome’s two companions.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Shippou had somehow managed to make his way to Kagome’s room. Not that it was hard to orientate through the hallways and corridors, but Rin was still with him and she was in the habit of taking a lot of detours. When they finally reached their destination, the girl greeted them with a warm smile.

She was relived to see them here, remembering they had been in the forest during her encounter with the old miko. Without words, she motioned for both to come next to her and the children took it as an invitation to sit in her lap. She could tell they had been worried, this confirming her suspicion that they had seen at least part of what had happened.

With gentle strokes, she combed her fingers through their hair. She didn’t know if she was comforting them or if she was the one being comforted. It didn’t take long for the two children to convince her into telling them a story. The request took her by surprise, but “Once upon a time…” was always the best way to start.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Silence reigned over the room Sesshoumaru had taken Sango and Miroku to. After Jaken had led them into the study and the expected formalities were over, their host suggested they should take this talk somewhere else since they needed all the privacy they could get. This is how they ended up in a small room next to the study, not quite a secret room, but safer from the sensitive ears of the servants who, no matter how loyal or if they were youkai, were always on the look out for new gossip.

They waited for Sesshoumaru to explain what it was he wanted from them.

“This Sesshoumaru needs you to do something,” he started. “You are familiar with the ookami…” he said and waited for their confirmation. “If I recall correctly, the chances of them being on Naraku’s side are slim…”

Miroku smiled. “I doubt any of Kouga’s men would even consider such a thing,” he confirmed, earning a frown from Sango.

Sesshoumaru inwardly smiled. “It is the answer I was hoping for,” and his smile managed to break into reality at the sight of Sango’s confusion. “And I believe the same goes for Ayame’s people…” he continued. “You are to go talk to them,” the youkai instructed and handed them two letters. “These are for them,” he explained. “All you need to know right now is that the war with Naraku is approaching rapidly.”

The two were listening quietly to what the taiyoukai had to say. It seemed there was a change in his plans, war having been a last option up till now. Though Miroku wanted to ask what exactly brought the change, a look at Sango’s warning gaze made him reconsider.

“When are we to leave?” asked Sango as she took the two letters.

“Right away,” he answered dryly. He watched the taijia swallow hard.

“But…Kagome…” she wanted to ask.

“She is in good hands,” he assured her. “Though not the same could be said of you,” he warned. “The longer you stall, the more danger everyone is put under.”

“We’ll just say ‘good bye’ to Kagome,” Miroku explained, “and we’ll be off then.”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Though the sun was just nearing its setting point, the excitement of the day and Kagome’s soothing voice had been enough to make Shippou and Rin fall asleep in her arms. This was the sight Sango found when she entered the room.

With a week smile she offered “Need help with that?”

Kagome shook her head. “But if you’re offering…”

Sango picked up the sleeping girl, while Kagome maneuvered Shippou so she could get up without waking him. They quietly took them to the children’s room, not wanting to wake them.

Back in their chamber, Kagome finally noticed Sango’s worry.

“We won’t be seeing each other for a few days,” the older girl explained. “Me and Miroku need to find Kouga and Ayame.” A short pause followed. “It looks like things are getting tenser.”

The miko just nodded. She was sort of expecting this, but she hadn’t expected her friends to leave her.

“Miroku thought it was best if he didn’t say ‘good bye’, he doesn’t want to tempt fate,” Sango laughed softly. “So I won’t actually say ‘good bye’ either. I’m just here to say ‘good night’.”

The two simply looked into each other’s eyes and nodded in agreement. This was not the time to say ‘good bye’. Without any other words, Sango left her and went to find Miroku so they could be on their way.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

As the setting sun turned the landscape into a fiery sight, Sango and Miroku were preparing to take off in search of Kouga and Ayame. Kirara, in her large form, was waiting for Sango to climb on.

Somewhere in the shadows, Youko was standing and watching the scene. He knew he wasn’t alone even if the wind didn’t bring any foreign sound or scent. “Where have you been?” he asked Hiei.

“Hn,” was all the young apparition inclined to answer as he stepped into view. The fox’s silence was a sign that he should continue with his explanation, so he did. “I was watching Inuyasha,” was all he said.

“And…” the fox encouraged, at the same time smiling at the monk’s surprise to find Sesshoumaru’s dragon as his means of transport. That and the sight of him trying to get on were most amusing.

“I doubt he’ll come back any time soon,” Hiei continued.

“What now?” his friend wanted to know.

“Hn,” Hiei started. “You’ll be staying here a while longer, aren’t you?” he asked, receiving a nod for an answer. “Then…” he stated turning to look at Miroku settled on A-Un. “I guess I’ll be following them,” he pointed with his chin to the two strange riders.

“Do you think you can keep up?” the fox asked as the neko and the dragon took off.

“Hn,” the dark blur uttered before vanishing from sight.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Alone in the darkened room, Kagome could feel the silence. With her friends gone, she didn’t have anyone to talk to. Even Sesshoumaru’s presence was missing from the castle, she was sure of that. The only auras she could make out were the children’s, Jaken’s and, she was almost certain, Youko’s. The servants were there, of course, but they were like part of the scenery, so used to them that the only time she would feel them was if they were gone.

She closed her eyes, letting the comfort of sleep wash over her. To her surprise, no fear accompanied the drowsiness and she had a feeling something would be waiting in her dreams, so she left darkness take over and embrace her.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“You are so close…” the shadow whispered.

Curious about the source of the voice, the fox approached it. Gray eyes stared blankly into the night and a soft laughing resounded from the shadows.

“So close…” it repeated.

“…but what for?” The voice moved behind him, teasing his senses.

“Why do you protect her?” the question came as a surprise to the fox though his features didn’t show it.

A knowing smile spread across his lips, arms crossed over his chest as his golden eyes studied the darkness in front of him, trying to catch the gray eyes in his stare. He couldn’t give a straight answer to the question, be he hoped he could find one in this figure.

A wrinkled hand beckoned him into the shadows.

“You are all…too unsure…” the voice started.

“The answers are right under your noses and yet…” gray eyes opened again and stared into gold, “… you don’t even bother to look.”

The shadow slowly materialized into the shape of an old woman, dressed in a strange form of miko grab. Though her eyes shined in the dark, their metallic stare was dull, lifeless.

The thought of waving a hand in front of her to check is she could see him abruptly crossed his mind but was just as abruptly abandoned.

So…this was Akiko. This was the danger Sesshoumaru warned him to keep away from the young miko. Her presence here was a little surprising and he wondered rather she had already meat with Kagome or not. His mind was yelling at him to check on the miko, but he also had to deal with Akiko’s presence.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

She felt her body heavy, as if she had turned to stone. There was a strong presence blinding her senses. It wasn’t evil but that didn’t mean it was good either. To her surprise, she was surrounded by light, a warm, blinding light that kept her awake.

Akiko’s gray eyes materialized in front of her, followed by Akiko herself. Her miko garb was replaced by a dark red kimono with a rust colored obi, giving her a warmer look that clashed with the ice in her eyes. The old woman came closer to her, an undefined smile playing across her lips. This time, she didn’t wait for the girl’s reaction, considering time was of greater importance now.

“You do not look as surprised as I expected,” she told the girl.

Indeed, Kagome was now prepared for anything.

“And, perhaps, it is better this way,” she continued, coming even closer. Sitting down on the edge of Kagome’s bed, she took a thoughtful expression. “I still owe you some answers… and I usually finish what I start…” The pause in her words was only to let the girl catch up with her thoughts.

Kagome was waiting, their last talk playing in her mind. She needed to know, so she helplessly welcomed this new intrusion. Her body relaxed somewhat, freeing itself from the weight, but still unable to move.

“There was a balance between the two great powers of this world: ningen and youkai…” Akiko cut straight to the problem at hand. “The rivalry between the two grew over the ages, finally leading to what we have today: fear, war, hate…” Her old voice sounded dry in the girl’s head as she tried to figure out what this had to do with her. Akiko’s eyes softened a bit as she continued, “Many have tried to restore the balance, but all have failed. The only one who got close enough to actually make a difference was Midoriko.” A weary smile graced her lips. “But she didn’t even know it… By trapping her soul along with that of the youkai, she gave us the chance to bring the two forces in balance again…if only we acted in time…” Regret filled the old woman’s voice and it was clear she was blaming herself for what hadn’t happened.

Kagome was beginning to become more and more concerned about this ‘we’ Akiko kept mentioning. If there were others trying to regain the balance, why weren’t they helping, why haven’t they made their presence known so far?

“Now it all hangs on your shoulders…” said the elder miko.

Kagome was already well aware of the responsibility she bore; there was no need for Akiko to remind her of that. Still…it always cut deep into her soul to know she was the only one that could take this story and give it the ending everyone wished for.

Akiko smirked. “I wasn’t saying you are _the_ only one…” Her words, surprisingly, made the girl deflate. “It is simply your turn and you, unlike the ones before you, have an advantage: the knowledge of those who failed.”

Kagome’s curiosity sparked. She knew of Kikyou’s misfortune, but the woman in front of her was the first to talk about the others. Akiko’s slight nod confirmed that she was well aware of this as well.

“The jewel has always called for a protector. Most are dead now, others have withered… It is not our place to judge them, but we can learn from them…” Her voice was somehow warmer and the phantom of a smile played at her lips. “You have even meat some of us and there are still those who do not know their part yet.”

Before Kagome could even ask, the old woman began, “But I lack the time to tell you everything now, so you will finally get the answer you were promised.”

A few seconds seemed to pass (or, maybe, they were minutes) in silence.

“The Shikon was never complete. It has always yearned for completion; it has always sought its half. By breaking it, you have just made your task harder. Two souls have to unite for the balance to be restored. Haven’t you ever wondered why it is called ‘The Jewel of four soles’ when it was formed out of only two?”

Kagome absorbed Akiko’s every word. The words confirming some of the suspicions she had formed because of the last events and brought more uncertainty into an already confused mind.

“You are the only one who can complete this circle. Kikyou was entrusted the Shikon because of her power. She would have succeeded if only her choice had been the right one… which I am certain you will make.” Akiko left it at that. There was no need to tell the girl everything. Others were supposed to bare the full weight of the answer.

For now, the young miko would have to count on those around her, like she had done so far. There was, however, one thing she could tell her. the old miko’s hand rested over the girl’s heart. “This is where your answer lies. It will come at the right time. You only need to listen.”

With that, Kagome found herself alone in the dark again.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Gray eyes became foggy and the shadows started to swallow her again. A feeling of distress filled the air and drove his senses mad. There was something wrong with Kagome and he was wasting his time with this reluctant enigma. He tensed as his worry grew and he turned to leave for the miko’s chambers.

An old hand rested on his arm, stopping him in place. “You think you can help her…” her voice echoed in the dark.

He stared at her in confusion and anxious to find the cause of Kagome’s distress.

“I don’t need to see you to know what you’re thinking…” she continued with a chuckle, sensing his confusion. “You might have a chance,” she started, adding to the questions inside the fox’s head.

The old woman’s lips curled in a smile. “Your part, just like Sesshoumaru’s, is to be by her side. The choice will be her own. When the time comes, we can only pray she makes the right one,” she said, throwing more riddles to the already annoyed fox.

Before he could even attempt to free himself from the dried hand that held him, Akiko let him go. “You should hurry,” she said. “Her night is just beginning… I am the least of your worries…”

Her eyes cleared up, their metal glow filled with life just before she vanished into the darkness from where she came.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Her heart was racing.

The darkness that surrounded her after Akiko’s parting was all too familiar.

The Jewel was calling and with it came the dark presence of Naraku.

Her chest was hurting under the pressure.

The ringing in her ears gave way to another dreaded sound.

“Why…My little miko, did you think I forgot about you?” he said as a finger materialized on her jawbone and trailed across to her chin. He tilted her face toward him.

When his crimson eyes bore into hers, a wicked smirk spread across his face.

 

 

 


	15. Strange Connections

 

The cavern echoed under his footfalls, sending warning to its inhabitant. The normal grace of those steps was no more, each tap was accompanied by a barely audible growl and it was coming closer and closer. Her vivid green eyes settled on the cave entrance, waiting for what was about to happen.

The silver form of the youkai materialized in front of her gaze. His eyes were nothing but golden slits, piercing into her sole (something he was honestly doubting ever existed). His icy voice made sure that any hint of a sole would suffer its full effect.

“Akiko” he stated simply.

The old woman chuckled. “You surely confuse me with someone else. I am Haruko, you know me well enough to remember my name, Sesshomaru…” she tried to reason with him as he came dangerously closer to her. The old woman had to throw her head back to look him in the eyes. It wasn’t a surprise to her when all that met her was nothing but an icy stare. Still, her calm façade was firmly in place, ready to take on anything the taiyoukai had to throw at her. “Is the miko troubling you?” she asked casually. Her lips starched into a thin smile as a low growl escaped the youkai’s throat.

“Surprisingly, the girl and her friends are not causing any trouble” he answered her. His eyes widened in surprise for a fraction of a second as he heard her chuckle again.

“But I wasn’t referring to the girl…”

“She is no miko!” he bit before Haruko could finish. “A hanyou, that is what she is, and a treacherous one at that…” he continued as he drew even closer. She was actually starting to worry as he lowered his face to meat hers. “Tell me… why is it that you two are so similar?” he asked.

Haruko had the inspired thought of taking a step back before answering his questions and decided to take them one at a time. “She has passed for miko for so many generations now that it would be unwise to say otherwise” she told him, that all-knowing smile of hers still plastered on her lips “And she is as much a youkai as I am, while I am as much human as she is. To call her ‘hanyou’ would be, however, unfit.”

She was the one to take a step forward this time as she continued. “A hanyou does not choose what he is, he merely is. Akiko, as you have already referred to her, has chosen to be human just as I have chosen to be youkai.”

Sesshomaru didn’t look very convinced by her words, though their implications struck a cord somewhere deep inside. Determined to clear things up he resumed his questioning, leaving the details for later. “Is she aiding Naraku?” he demanded.

“Am I aiding you?” she was quick to return the question.

Sesshoumaru straightened himself, looking at a point somewhere above the old woman and raising his brow. “Are you?”

“As long as you do not disappoint her, my powers are at your disposal.”

The youkai looked at her with distrust, accepting her answer for the moment. He was certain there was more behind her words but there was nothing he could do for now about that. Still in the spot he had stopped in a few moments ago, he kept his eyes on his strange ally as she pored something into a cup, adding more ingredients as she went.

“To show you how deep my devotion...” she said, offering the cup to him.

He took it, eyeing it suspiciously and sniffing its content. The only thing he could detect was the large variety of herbs it contained, unable to discern the individual ingredients.

Haruko was displaying an innocent smile on her aged face, urging him to drink the potion. “Where there is no trust…” she said.

Frowning, he took a sip and, not sensing any danger, he drank the whole cup, his eyes still on the old hanyou.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Akiko might not have appeared as the most trustworthy of sources, but his instinct told him she was right. He could feel Kagome’s distress growing after a short period of calm. The feeling of helplessness that hit him once he entered her room left him unable to act.

The girl was twisting and turning in her sleep, helpless against her terrible nightmare. Tears were streaming down her face as she whimpered in her sleep. Finally snapping back to himself, Youko kneeled next to her, mussing over what to do.

His attempts at soothing her hit a brick wall as he realized she couldn’t even sense his presence next to her. So deep was her sleep, that reality could never reach her in any form. Seeing this, he settled for just holding her hand while she slept, hoping the nightmare would stop soon.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

The potion left a strange taste in his mouth, but that was all. He felt no difference, other than the need to wash the taste away, and he was starting to suspect Haruko was intent on making him lose his time. The youkai was about to tall her so when it hit him. His tong curled in his mouth in an attempt to make sure he was wrong. Still, it was there: the metallic aftertaste of blood. He had missed it initially among the scents and taste of the many herbs in the potion, but now he was certain. “What are you…” he growled, but was unable to finish the question.

“Shhh…” she stopped him. “I said I will help…” the old woman whispered as darkness began to engulf her.

He blinked, once, twice, trying to clear his vision, but to no result. The room seemed to get smaller and darker, with two bright, green eyes staring at him in silence and expectation. Soon, the eyes vanished as well and were replaced by black nothingness.

‘The old…’ he started in his mind, a curse no doubt, but stopped when he felt a familiar presence nearby. His eyes scanned his surroundings, only to come across nothing.

“No! Please, don’t!” he hared a week voice in the distance and decided to follow it. It was familiar and, as he drew nearer, so did the presence. And there she was: eyes widened in shock, Kagome was staring into empty space in front of her, a look of pure terror in her eyes. “No!” she would scream every now and then, her powers flaring and the surging energy attacking his senses.

“Please, don’t!” Kagome said in a calm voice, before looking straight at him. Her eyes were squinted in confusion and she looked as if uncertain of his presence there.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

She so dreaded going to sleep. She hated the surrounding darkness, she hated being in a world she couldn’t touch and, most of all, she hated the nightmares that weren’t really nightmares. She almost thought they were over when a few nights passed with no consequence, but Akiko made her leave her guard down and there he was.

Kagome couldn’t stand the sound of his voice, the touch of his fingertips on her skin, the sight of him… but she knew there was no escaping him.

“You are mine, little miko” Naraku told her every time and this was no exception. He had made sure she remembered what he was to her: her ongoing nightmare.

No, he hadn’t tried to have her this time. Tonight he was just happy to bring back the images of that night.

“The feel of your flesh under my fingertips…” he sighed at some point, trailing his finger down her cheek.

She tried pushing him out of her mind, but it didn’t work. Images of their night started playing in front of her and she felt, just like than, a witness to her own misery. “Please, don’t!” she begged. She didn’t want to see it all over. “No!” But it had no use. The images were there, inside her mind, and they weren’t going anywhere. She flared her energy to no result.

She begged and pleaded and only added to the hanyou’s satisfaction as the only thought that took over her mind was his destruction. The girl could feel the hanyou’s flesh tear apart under her flashes of energy, while his satisfied laughter filled her ears.

“That’s it, little one! Your anger and hate are what I want!” he said gleefully. “And you are going to give me more.” As he said these words, his hand, defleashed and cold as death, clamped on her chin, his claws slowly digging into her skin. “You are going to give me all the darkness of your soul, little miko! Darkness you never thought existed,” he whispered.

He was leaning in, closing the distance between their lips.

A white shadow appeared in the background, stealing her focus from the hanyou. The shadow was coming closer and she could make out long, silver hair and the white silk robes of a certain inu youkai she knew. She could see his golden eyes now and wondered if this could be. ‘Please, let this be a dream!’ she prayed in her thoughts and, before the dreaded lips could touch hers, she managed to whisper: “Please, don’t!”

She didn’t know who she had pleaded to. All she knew was that she didn’t want the light to go away. She didn’t want the darkness to consume her and the nightmare to continue.

‘Don’t go away!’ she pleaded to her unexpected savior before her lips felt the coldness of Naraku’s touch.

His deformed features began to fade before her. “I won’t forget this,” he hissed before disappearing.

Her energy promptly receded, overwhelmed by the darkness of the jewel. She had caused this; she knew it and her breath stopped under the pressure.

Kagome felt the ground give beneath her and the long fall that followed. The impact, however, never came. She found herself cradled against cold armor and soft silk, an unexpected warmth giving her comfort. She refused to open her eyes, but her breath picked up again, becoming faster and faster, keeping up with her racing heart. There was no need for fear now. This time, she was certain it was a dream.

A soothing hand ran up and down her back and she let it be. For the first time that night, Kagome felt she could relax and let her worries flow off of her.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Sesshoumaru woke up on a bed in Haruko’s cave. He had held on to Kagome until the contours of their world faded and reality came rushing in. he had no idea why he let her hang on to him like that, but he felt she needed comfort and, if it were to come from him, it was as good as it could get. As she relaxed into his arms, he had allowed himself the small gesture of stroking her back, completely ignoring her human origin.

Haruko was there, staring at him as he woke. “This took longer than I had expected,” she said.

Sesshoumaru didn’t spare her an answer. He understood what happened and knew of the time he had at his disposal. There was no need to linger about here when there were more pressing issues at his castle. He headed for the exit, past the old woman.

“You knew,” was all he said before quietly leaving.

Haruko’s low chuckle filled the cave. “I did.” She turned, her back facing the cavern’s entrance. “And you have more to learn.”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Darkness faded into sunlight as the girl slowly came back to reality. The feel of her sheets (and night kimono) tangled around her told the girl she was finally free of the nightmare.

There was something in her hand, warm and filled with life. On a closer inspection, as her fingers traveled up to the source and her eyes followed, she found silver hair and golden eyes, much like the ones she just left, welcoming her upon awakening. She squinted at the sight of pointed ears that gently twitched on top of the fox’s head.

“It was a nightmare,” he told her gently and helped her up.

Kagome blinked as she brushed her bangs out of her face.

“A nightmare,” she repeated dully ‘but it ended in nothing more than a dream…’

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

‘These humans are quite amusing,’ the little fire demon said to himself as he watched the taijia’s hand impact the monk’s cheek. He had been helping her off her fire-cat and his hand had traveled lower than it should… it was the fourth such incident Hiei had witnessed since leaving Sesshoumaru’s castle and he was determined not to lose count.

They were nearing the mountains.

Hiei supposed that was where they were heading first: to talk to Ayame. He had never seen the wolf princess and was a bit curious to do so. From what he overheard from them, she was an interesting youkai and her relationship to Kouga made it difficult to figure out an approach. Kouga, on the other hand, he knew quite well. The brat hat crossed paths with Youko a few times, usually messing up the fox’s plans and generally being a nuisance. Why Sesshoumaru wanted to contact them was a mystery to the apparition. He figured out the two’s plans along the way from their conversation, but the purpose of the visits seemed to be unknown even to them.  

As they sat to have breakfast, the two appeared to discus something important. Annoyed that he couldn’t make out their words from where he was, Hiei decided to move in a little closer, careful not to give away his position.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Miroku was rubbing his sore cheek. He didn’t worry about it too much though; he knew she would eventually give in. A knowing smirk graced his face, only to be wiped away by Sango’s bitter look. He turned back serious. She wasn’t in the mood for games right now.

“I’m worried about Kagome,” she said, breaking the silence.

“She hasn’t had nightmares in a while,” Miroku said looking absently at her.

“None that she would tell us about, no.”

“Why would she hide them from us?”

Sango rolled her eyes. How could the monk act as if he didn’t know Kagome didn’t want to worry them?

“Besides,” he continued, “she’s with Youko. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

Sango, on the other hand, still had her doubts about the fox. However, she could very well understand why the monk would.

“I think we should split up,” she said, changing the topic.

Miroku looked at her confused. “Why?”

“We’ll finish faster and meet back at the castle. I don’t like leaving Kagome alone for so long. Not now,” she explained, looking nervously around. The sounds of the forest were making her a bit nervous lately. “You can handle Kouga on your own, can’t you?”

Miroku quickly jumped to his feet. “I can at least get to talk to Ayame!” he protested.

Sango laughed. “If you are to talk to Ayame, we’ll never get this over with and you might end up with more than a sore cheek.” She moved to Kirara and pulled out the letter intended for the wolf youkai, giving it over to Miroku. “Here you go,” she said. “We’ll meet back at the castle! Now finish your food!”

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

As the two mounted their beasts, Hiei made a quick decision to follow the monk (the taijia was more than capable to take care of herself). The trees provided cover and a very practical shortcut for the dark blur that followed below. Keeping his eyes on the lizard, Hiei remembered to curse the fox for contemning him with his curiosity.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Every time Kagome closed her eyes, her thoughts traveled back to the darkness that had engulfed her not twenty minutes earlier. The Jewel was far more corrupt than she remembered it ever being. The immense power it fed Naraku made her tremble. To top it all off, she knew there was nothing she could do about it. She was stuck here, waiting for someone else to figure things out, while a fox with eyes like molten gold watched her every move. Sighing, she closed her eyes again, letting a cool wind surround her. A pair of metallic eyes seemed to bore into her soul and an old hut, surrounded by trees, appeared in the distance, somewhere on a mountain’s edge.

On opening her eyes again, the bored look on Youko’s face told her it had all been in her mind but now, she knew what she would do next and there was no one stopping her.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Above the clouds, Sesshoumaru’s silver figure made its way back to his castle. He seemed impassible to the surrounding landscape, focusing solely on his destination, however a certain clearing caught his eye and he started descending.

He landed in a tree at the edge of the clearing; the same clearing he had brought Kagome to after rescuing her from Naraku’s disintegrating castle. She had been through such an ordeal; it was a wonder she still kept her will to live. He could still remember her beaten body and the look of terror in her eyes when she woke up in his arms. He smiled as another thing struck him: it had been the first time he ever held her without the intention of harming her. She had been so fragile than, that all thought of their previous encounters had fled his mind. He was there and she needed protection; that was how things evolved between them from that moment. After seeing the wounds on her body and her heart, after seeing her at her most vulnerable, he wondered how this could be the same person that recklessly stood up to him on so many occasions, who took danger head on, only afterwards thinking of the possible outcomes. In a few weeks, he came to know her better than in the years that passed since they had meat in his father’s grave.

The image of a broken toy came to his mind. A toy he now had to fix after trying so hard to break. Almost nothing was left of the Kagome he first knew. The little miko that took the world on without a second thought was gone with her innocence. The darkness in the dream was part of her, not an illusion created by Naraku. She was slowly loosing herself. The only thing left was her recklessness.

As he thought more of the troubled girl that would be waiting on his return, realization hit him: she was no longer the child he had considered her to be. She was now just like her friends: forced into leaving childhood behind, into growing up before her time.

The memory of her coming to his room that night came to his mind and he knew there was no time to waste. He needed to be back at his castle immediately. After all, the only thing left of the old Kagome was her recklessness.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Youko was looking on dumbfounded at the young miko as she was pacing around the room. She was talking to herself, too fast and too hushed to follow. He didn’t even bother to do so as her words made no sense at all (there was something about the Jewel and Naraku, but the phrase was too jumbled to be sure). Every now and then, she would stop in the middle of the room, her eyes brightening for a moment, and she would hurry to get something and place it in her strange, yellow bag, which seemed to have doubled in size since she started.

“You’re not planning to go home again, are you?”

She stopped and looked at him for a few seconds, than averted her gaze “Not quite…”

“Where is it?” she started talking to herself again, going one more time around the room in search of that elusive ‘it’ she had mentioned several times before. After a few more rounds of the room, she eventually found something. It was among the taijia’s things. She grabbed it quickly and ran off. The fox was about to go after her when she turned around to stop him. “I’ll be just a minute,” she said, clearly not wanting him to tag along.

He leaned back against the wall, looking at the giant bag as if it would tell him what this strange girl was up to. He could sense her return. Not long after, he could clearly hear her outside the door.

The door slid open, letting in a strangely clad miko. She had dressed up in one of the taijia’s outfits, making it easier for her to move around. The dark colors suited her well, bringing out her eyes. With a critical eye, he also noticed the difference in size between the girls, as Sango’s costume hung loosely on the miko’s body, especially around the chest. He smiled to himself, mentally slapping himself for believing the attire would fit as snuggly on any female body. He realized he was staring, so he averted his gaze.

“You mean to say you aren’t going anywhere?” he asked her, carefully studying the shoji frame behind her.

“I’m not running home, if that’s what you thought.”

“You know you can’t leave here. It would put you in too much danger,” he explained, still avoiding to look at her.

“I don’t need you’re approval.”

“Really?”

“I need you to take me there.”

Youko’s train of thought stopped at the words and he just looked at her. She was determined and there was no room to argue… but he had to try.

“And if I refuse?”

Kagome’s suggestive smirk seemed to say she had been waiting for the remark. “I might just purify that which needs not purifying.”

This was a lot different from the scared little girl he stopped from going over the well’s lip. Her fear was still obvious, but her determination was grater. It also would have been a mistake to say he didn’t like her attitude.

“Where?”

“You’ll know when we get there,” she smiled sweetly. She turned to pick up her bag before leaving.

“Do you really need all that?” he asked her, pointing to the now very large bag.

Kagome heaved it over her shoulder, making sure the straps were safely fastened.

“I don’t know what I’ll need, so I want to be prepared.” She had managed to get a bow and some arrows and a strange little bottle she still didn’t know where to put. Taking another look at her bag, she frowned, realizing how impractical it was.

“I won’t really need all that, will I?” she asked the fox.

Youko shook his head. Finally convinced, Kagome dug through her things for a few small items which she placed, along with the bottle, in a small pouch at her side.

“Now, I’m ready,” she said, heading for the door.

Youko grabbed her hand before she could slide the doors open.

“If you want to do this right, follow me!” he said and guided her along a series of corridors only he and Sesshoumaru knew of. The taiyoukai would sense their absence the moment he arrived, but there was no use in attracting the attention of the servants.

The girl was quietly following behind, anxious to get out of the castle. No matter what she was up to, he would make sure she won’t get hurt, though he expected Sesshoumaru wouldn’t agree to his approach.

Once they were out of the castle and safely in the nearby woods, Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked in the direction where she was pointing, to find the mountains to the north.

“That’s where we’re going,” she said.

“You were going to make that trip on foot?” he asked her and he blush told him he was right. He shook his head and sighed. “Even if I carried you, I doubt we could get there in less than two days. Maybe you should reconsider. By the time we’re half way there, Sesshoumaru will surely catch up with us and I doubt he would agree with you.”

Kagome shook her head and took his hands.

“We don’t need to go all the way. Just take me as far as you can before Sesshoumaru finds us.”

She awkwardly allowed him to pick her up.

“Hold on!” he said before starting their sprint through the woods. With no destination in mind, he was tens at the thought of what might be waiting for them at the end.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

“Ginta, Hakaku leave us!” Kouga ordered. He wanted to discus matters in private with the monk. “Well, Miroku?” he inquired after the two had left.

Miroku took out the letter Sesshoumaru had entrusted him and handed it over to the wolf. “All I know is that it concerns Naraku… and Kagome.”

Kouga’s eyes grew wider at the monk’s words and kept on growing as he read the letter. Naraku was gathering forces to confront the demon-lords. He was now after the one thing the Jewel couldn’t give him directly: political power. “How does Kagome fit into this?” he asked.

Miroku hesitated in his answer. “She’s… She’s been marked…” he stopped when Kouga’s fingers clenched on the collar of his robe and he was lifted from the ground. “He… he took her as a mate and now, the youkai lords want to use her as bate… I think…”

The look on Kouga’s face surpassed all notions of rage. His Kagome was forced into mating that filthy hanyou… “Mate?” he asked furiously. The monk nodded. “And Inuyasha just allowed that to happen?”

Miroku gulped nervously. “Inuyasha couldn’t handle the situation. He’s been acting strangely and we haven’t heard of him in days… weeks…” the ground drew even further from his feet and his staff fell from his hand, landing on the floor with its characteristic chime.

Kouga unclenched his fingers, letting the monk fall to the ground. “Since when is Sesshoumaru master of ceremonies?” he asked, “Aand why is my Kagome BAIT?”

Miroku shook his head, picking himself up. “You’ll have to come to the castle and find out. He didn’t bother letting the humans in on his plans.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there!” he promised. “You can go ahead of us and tell him we’ll be there.”

Miroku dusted himself off and nodded. Heading back to the dragon, he heard Kouga address his wolfs. “We finally get to kick Naraku’s ass, guy!” A very enlightening speech if it were up to the monk to judge. As he mounted the beast again, he couldn’t help the feeling of being watched. Rising to the sky, he decided to ignore it and hurry to meet back with Sango.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Kirara was hissing and ruffling her fur, her small size making her vulnerable to all the wolves around. Her only protection was Sango who prohibited her to change back to her large size. Now curled in her mistress’s lap, she lazily listened to what she had to talk with the wolf demon.

The red-haired young woman sitting across from the demon exterminator was carefully reading her letter. It was requested of her to join the other youkai leaders at Sesshoumaru’s castle. It was her chance to confront Naraku. It was something she had to do for her people. It was her duty to join the great lords in this hour of need. However, she had her doubts about this mission’s success.

“Kouga should be there…” Sango mentioned matter-of-factly, her sheepish grin giving her away.

Ayame laughed at the thought, more to hide her own feelings than anything else. “Why would Kouga show interest me after all this time?” she asked, though the bright sparkle in her eyes gave her away. “Is Kagome there?”

Sango looked away. “Yes…”

“Sango!” the red-head demanded. “What happened to Kagome?” There was worry in her voice and there was command in her voice.

Sango straightened up and cleared her voice, trying to stall. “Ayame, I have to be honest with you. Though Naraku has been our enemy for years, the only reason I’m joining the fight now is because Kagome has been caught in the middle of it all. I can’t tell you more, but she might, if she whishes to.”

Ayame nodded. “It’s her decision after all, right?” Smiling absently she confirmed. “You can tell Sesshoumaru I’ll be there by tomorrow morning. I need to gather my wolves.”

The older girl bowed and headed for the edge of the wolf camp, Kirara in her arms. Once away from temptation, the cat was allowed to change back to her larger form and carry her mistress back to the castle.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

A feeling of uselessness swept over the dog demon as he headed for the girl’s chamber. He wanted to have a word with her after being witness to her torture. Though his senses told him she might still e there, another part of him was sure he should better start searching outside. Deciding to go with his senses, he opened the doors only to find nothing. She wasn’t there and neither was Youko.

Refusing to move from the spot, his fingers clenched on the door’s edge. Splinters soon started flying and he was left holding nothing but air and pieces of wood. He would have to get a servant to fix this, but there were more important things to worry about right now.

Following the same secret rout the two fugitives had done before, he was soon out in the woods, his every bit concentrating on finding the girl. It was almost noon and, despite the myriad of distraction this time of day, it was easy to find what he was looking for: a miko and a fox heading north.

After following for a while on foot, making sure this was the right trail, he took to the sky. It was faster this way and, if he lost them, he could always go back down to find the trail again.

As he looked for the two, a dark cloud in the distance attracted his attention. It was too far away to tell what its nature was, but something told him it was not natural. He considered taking a closer look, but abandoned the idea as it presented no immediate danger. Kagome was his priority and he had a feeling he would deal with the cloud later.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Dodging another branch, Youko felt Kagome cling tighter to him. He was grateful she was paying more attention to the scenery than to him as the smirk on his face clearly proved that under different circumstances she wouldn’t have been so safe around him. Since things were as they were, the only reasonable thing left to do was wait until this was over and try his luck then…

There was a familiar aura surrounding them now and he knew this was what Kagome had been waiting for. As she gave no signal to stop, they continued on their way, but he was now alert to the new presence. It seemed to come from the side and he was about to miss the last landing when Akiko’s figure materialized in front of them. The girl was surprisingly quiet in his arms, staring off at the old woman.

“You decided to come, child,” Akiko greeted her, ignoring her means of transport.

Kagome tilted her head in greeting. “I followed my ‘feelings’… they were incredibly vivid.”

“That they were…” the old woman chuckled, signaling for the two to follow her. Before they could take in their changing surroundings, an unnatural darkness overcame them and a chill passed through their bodies. Kagome vaguely remembered the feeling. It was the same one she had when that old man kidnapped her. She started shivering, both from the chill and the bad memories.

Seeing her distress, Youko tried to hold her tighter in an attempt of comforting her but she pulled away. She almost tripped when the darkness resided and they found themselves in front of an old hut. The only thing that stood between Kagome and the sharp rocks was Youko’s quick reactions, grabbing her before impact.

Akiko, back into her strange miko outfit, was waiting for them in the doorway. She looked as if she had never left the place.

Kagome was first to follow the old woman in. Bottles and jars filled with potions lay on shelves and a feeling of déjà vu overcame the young miko. It was all so much like Haruko’s cave that she almost saw green eyes in stead of Akiko’s gray. Absently, she touched one of the bottles, earning herself a start and a nervous cough from their host.

“You still haven’t finished,” the girl said.

“I can give you some hints, but the end is not mine to tell. It hasn’t played out yet, so why spoil it?” Taking the bottle Kagome had just touched, Akiko gave it to Youko. “This might interest you…” she said, feeling his curiosity rise. “You shall know why when the time is right.”

The fox took it with a raised brow. Still, he didn’t say a word, knowing he had more than one way of finding out what it was.

“Come closer, child!” Akiko called to the girl, wanting her close enough to hear her whisper. “There are dark times ahead of you,” she said, not letting her retreat. “Your demons will consume you before you will be strong enough to fight them off and death will claim you more than once. Do not fear it!” she warned. Despite what she was being told, Kagome did not back away and the old woman continued. “You will succeed only if you allow your heart to guide you. It holds the answers and you will know when to use them. Your victory, however, lies only in your hands and you can still fail. Even if you don’t, I must remind you no guardian of the Jewel has ever lived happily ever after.”

Kagome was not one to accept her fate. The old woman’s words just added to her determination, though they also added to her worry. She understood what demons Akiko was talking about, as she had been fighting them for weeks. She was, however, tired of this old woman’s riddles. Not even after coming all the way to her had she gotten a straight answer out of her, just half-twisted prophecies and words of wisdom that sounded as if taken from a fortune cookie.

It was time for a new approach and, hopefully, some answers. As the words started forming in her mind, she realized they weren’t being spoken. Her body was frozen and a strange feeling overtook her. She could hear Akiko call to the fox.

“There would be one thing I need to warn you, kitsune,” she said.

The tall man came, unaware of Kagome’s true state. To him, she just looked stunned from what she had been told and expected her to come around in a few seconds. He allowed the old woman to grab his arm.

“You can do nothing for her,” she said, talking about the young miko. “Let her meet her fate and face her demons. Her destiny depends on you, but your part will be played out a long time from now.”

She smiled and let go of him. A tingling feeling took over his now free limb and the room started to spin. Akiko’s smile took on an evil note and her gray eyes were the last thing he saw.

Looking helplessly on the whole scene, Kagome felt completely powerless. Akiko was finally showing to be the threat Sesshoumaru kept seeing in her. ‘You’ve done it this time!’ she told herself. Akiko’s form was beginning to fade out and darkness was creeping up on her again. She took in a deep breath of air before letting go of reality.

A speck of light seemed to make its way through the night and all her hopes flew to it, knowing it might be the last time she could hope.

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

It was as though the world had decided to take a break. Everything was still, from the beasts of the forest to the demons that lurked in the shadows, and the taiyoukai of the West did not like this. The strange darkness had vanished and, with it, so did any trace of Kagome or Youko. For a moment, he contemplated the idea that his senses might have been tricked by some sort of spell but dismissed it just as soon. The silence around him was real and so was the lack of movement. Still confused, he decided to continue north at a slower pace, hoping there was still a chance to pick up their trail again.

The Sun was setting when silence was finally broken. It was weak at first, growing in intensity as he focused on it. It was the miko, a red spot in a sea of darkness. She was calling out to him, her voice slowly drowned by the dark waters around her. A moment of silence followed and then the world seemed to come back to life. Kagome was, however, gone.

Youko, on the other hand, appeared to be close by. Focusing on his surroundings, Sesshoumaru selected a small hut on the slope of a nearby mountain as the source of the fox’s presence.

The bloodied cliffs of the mountains lay sole witnesses to his arrival with the red sun already hiding behind them. The setting seemed familiar as he approached the doorway. The place appeared deserted. There was no trace of the girl, though she had been here a while ago. On a closer inspection, he found Youko sleeping in a dark corner.

The fox was asleep, what a surprise… first he helped the girl evade him, than he got her in more trouble than she had already been. Sesshoumaru was starting to lose patience with his ‘friend’ and seeing him take a snooze was not helping either.

Ignoring all courtesy, he proceeded to poke the sleeping youkai in the ribs with the tip of his boot. Seeing there was no result, he put a little more soul in his efforts and was rewarded with an irritated moan from the fox.

“On your feet, kitsune!” the taiyoukai ordered.

Now fully awake, Youko shot to his feet. Franticly looking for Kagome, he found himself staring into the eyes of a very irritated Sesshoumaru. The miko’s absence explained the look on the dog’s face, but his anger was very clearly directed at the fox, with good reason, too.

“AKIKO!” Youko suddenly realized “She took her!” It was strange how his mind seemed to unlock after a long silence. It was as if he had suddenly come back to life, too late to the right thing. “We need to find them!”

Sesshoumaru looked impassively at the fox. Though he could tell he was hones, there was little faith he could give him under the circumstances. It was his fault the miko was gone and there was no going back now. Youko was going nowhere other than back to the castle where he would stay until needed. There was no need for words as you could see it on the fox’s face that he knew. “You’re not going alone!” he protested uselessly.

Sesshoumaru turned to leave, ignoring his protest.

“I have no more need for your presence here. Go to the castle and take care of the others. This Sesshoumaru can handle this on his own.” Saying this, he went through the door, ready to take off into the night air. From inside the hut he could still hear Youko’s voice.

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? Get her into Naraku’s hands so you could get to him,” he accused, making the inu youkai stop in his tracks. “It worked. At least you haven’t lost your abilities as a strategist with age…”

The fox’s calm words felt like daggers to Sesshoumaru. He hated being right this time and he hated the fox knowing that. Without another word for his disgraced ally, he took to the air, clinging to the image of that little red spot surrounded by dark waters.  

 

~~~~~+++~~~~~

 

Heavy drapes hung over her conscientiousness, separating her from reality. It was a wonder how sleep always got her in the strangest of situations. She blinked. But…she wasn’t asleep this time. She had no idea what Akiko had done to her, but she sure wasn’t asleep. It was more of a trance… somewhere between dream and reality. She knew she wasn’t asleep because Naraku wasn’t there. His presence was strong, it surrounded her from every direction, but he wasn’t there with her, invading her dreams and torturing her.

Looking around, she found the darkness starting to take shape. She was in a clearing, near a stream. There was no wind and everything around her was still, the only sound she could hear was the stream next to her, making its way through the stones in its path.

It looked familiar somehow. It wasn’t precisely a spot that would impress through its beauty; it was just a clearing like so many others she had encountered on her journey: peaceful and quiet but, other than that, just a clearing. Than it dawned on her, this was the place she first woke up after Sesshoumaru had rescued her.

She started turning in place until she hit a hard surface. Looking up, she found golden eyes staring down on her with concern.

Against her better judgment, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around the youkai’s neck. She was now convinced it was a dream. Burying her face in his silver hair, she whispered, “Why are you here?”

Taken by surprise by the girl’s actions, Sesshoumaru allowed her to hug him and awkwardly wrapped his own arms around her waist. She was trembling. He sighed in relief when he realized it wasn’t fear she was shivering from. He had no answer to her question since he didn’t even know how he got there, wherever ‘there’ was. “You called to me, remember?”    

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for this fic. I posted this chapter in October 2007 (I started writing it in February, according to the file info) and then I started University and never got around to finishing the fic.   
> I did a round of edits back in 2009 and then another one before posting here. Mostly spelling, punctuation and paragraphs, to make it easier to read. I haven't changed any of the phrasing and I haven't rewritten any scenes.   
> I'll add a bullet point summary of what the rest of the story should have been like, just to give it some closure, in the next few days. I'm not sure I remember everything I had planned, but it should cover the main plot points and the ending.

**Author's Note:**

> I debated for a long time rather or not I should do a summary of my plans for the rest of the story. The answer is apparently not. It's probably best to leave it here. 
> 
> While I did find some of my notes from the time and a partial first draft of chapter 16, I can't remember enough details to string together anything coherent. There was going to be a love triangle, Kagome was going to have a baby (As the prophecy foretold) and somewhere between those two events, Sesshoumaru and Youko were going to get trapped in the Makai in order to get rid of Naraku. Kagome was going to have to deal with the aftermath on her own and there was going to be way too much info on how hanyou babies developed in the womb. As I said, it's probably for the best if I don't chase down that initial plot...
> 
> I apologize to everyone who still hoped to see this get the ending it deserved and I want to thank everyone who showed me support back when I started writing this fic and who stuck around over the long, fruitless years of hiatus. 
> 
> Onward to Fractured! And hopefully a better story :)


End file.
